Belgium
Report on the State of Citizenship and Human Rights Education in Europe
Questionnaire filled in by the Directorate General of Education (FWB) and the Flemish Department of Education and Training
GENERAL QUESTIONS
Q1 Would you agree that citizenship and human rights education is a means to address…
a) … violent extremism and radicalisation leading to terrorism?
To a great extent
b) … integration of migrants and refugees?
To a great extent
c) … consequences of the economic crisis / austerity measures / social exclusion?
To little extent
d) … the deficit of democratic participation of both vulnerable and non-vulnerable groups in society with the overall aim of building cohesive and equitable societies?
To a medium extent
Q2 In your country, is priority given to…
a) … EDC/HRE at national government level
To a little extent
b) … EDC/HRE at local government level
To a little extent
c) … EDC/HRE at educational institution level (school, college, university)
To a little extent
d) … supporting training about EDC/HRE for teachers and school leaders
To a little extent
e) … making resources / materials about EDC/HRE available
To a fair extent
f) … making financial support for EDC/HRE available
To a fair extent
g) … supporting co-operation with NGOs, including youth organisations, in the field of EDC/HRE?
To a little extent
Further comments
d) Global, socially responsible citizenship education is an integral part of education for democratic citizenship
Q3 What is needed for citizenship and human rights education to receive a greater priority in your country?
a) Improved awareness of relevance of EDC/HRE for meeting the current challenges in our societies
To a fair extent
b) Availability of data on effectiveness of EDC/HRE with respect to meeting the current challenges in our societies, including examples of good practice
To a fair extent
c) Advocacy by civil society organisations
To a fair extent
d) Advocacy by prominent personalities
To a fair extent
e) Increased visibility of EDC/HRE in the media coverage
To a fair extent
f) Political will
To a large extent
g) Political pressure from regional and international institutions
To a fair extent
h) More resources allotted to EDC/HRE
To a large extent
i) Other
To a large extent
Please specify “other”
The NGO sector needs to organise itself and start lobbying the federated entities in this regard.
Further comments
Belgian education is characterised by full devolution of competences to the 3 linguistic Communities. There are 3 education systems of the French, Flemish and German-speaking Community respectively.
Schools enjoy a large degree of autonomy and apart from the public schools, many publicly funded private schools exist, following, however the common legislative framework for their Community and bound to assume public responsibility regardless of their legal status: public or private.
Belgian education is characterised by full devolution of competences to the 3 linguistic Communities. There are 3 education systems of the French, Flemish and German-speaking Community respectively.
Schools enjoy a large degree of autonomy and apart from the public schools, many publicly funded private schools exist, following, however the common legislative framework for their Community and bound to assume public responsibility regardless of their legal status: public or private.
Q4 In your country, are there any inconsistencies between...
a)…statements of principle (on the value of EDC/HRE in education for all people) and existing education policies?
To a fair extent
b)…EDC/HRE policies and their implementation in practice?
To a fair extent
c)…EDC/HRE policies and other policy sectors?
To a fair extent
Please describe the existing inconsistences:
French community: In terms of education, the decrees on citizenship are not widely known and applied at present. They do not work very well in practice. Generally speaking, the school system encourages a rather fragmented approach to learning. At federal level, there is little consistency between policies (migration, agriculture, etc.). The political will is there but resources are few. No binding provisions.
Feedback from the Flemish community shows the following: lack of a long-term approach (within schools, the attainment targets make it possible to develop such an approach), teachers who do not feel adequately trained, lack of evidence on ‘what works’.
Further comments
Strong emphasis on projects unrelated to classroom lessons when it comes to implementing EDC/HRE in schools.
Q5 In your country, have strategic approaches / measures been taken to counter these inconsistencies, since 2012?
Yes
If yes, please specify:
French community:
- Creation of an action plan entitled “Children’s rights”
- An academic “GPS” for the NGO sector encourages co-operation and consistent policy making in the field of education.
Flemish Community: On April the 3th of 2015 the Flemish government adopted an Action plan for the prevention of radicalisation processes that can lead to extremism and terrorism. Although this action plan does not mention citizenship education explicitly, some actions can have an impact on citizenship aspects.
If no, please explain why not:
Further comments
Q6 Have concrete measures/activities been taken to promote citizenship and human rights education in your country since 2012, in accordance with the objectives and principles of the Charter? (NB: this includes work done in the framework of the UN World Programme for Human Rights Education and other relevant international programmes and initiatives)
Yes
If yes, please specify:
French community:
- Creation of a citizenship course (due to start in primary schools in September 2016)
- Development of a reference framework for philosophy and citizenship in compulsory education
- Curriculum development
- Decrees
- Reinforcement through the joint Policy Statement
Flemish community: An update of the curriculum is planned for the whole of compulsory education. This will be based on scientific insights and a debate involving different stakeholders. From the public debate it became clear that a majority of respondents wants citizenship education to obtain a more central place in the curriculum.
If no, please explain why not:
Further comments
Q7 Are there any measures/activities planned to promote citizenship and human rights education in your country, in accordance with the aims and objectives of the Charter?
Yes
If yes, please specify:
Philosophy and citizenship lessons.
If no, please explain why not:
Further comments
Q8 Is the Charter…
a)…available in the language(s) of your country?
Yes*
b)…available in the minority language(s) of your country?
No
c)…available on the website of the Ministry of Education or another relevant body?
Yes
d)… disseminated to the target audiences by other means?
Yes
If no, please explain why not:
Further comments: *NB: The Charter is available in French, but not in the Flemish language.
Q9 The Council of Europe has produced a number of tools and resources to promote and support citizenship and human rights education within and across the States Party to the European Cultural Convention. These tools and resources are available at: www.coe.int/en/web/edc/resources and at: www.coe.int/compass (Please indicate the usefulness, in your country, of the following Council of Europe tools and resources.)
a) Charter on EDC/HRE
Scarcely used
b) Strategic Support for Decision-makers: Policy Tool for EDC/HRE
Scarcely used
c) Democratic Governance of Schools
Scarcely used
d) How all Teachers Can Support EDC/HRE: A Framework for the Development of Competencies
Scarcely used
d) Quality Assurance of EDC in Schools
Scarcely used
e) School-Community-University Partnerships for Sustainable Democracy: EDC in Europe and the US
I do not know/Information not available
f) Living Democracy' Manuals for Teachers
Scarcely used
g) A Compendium of Good Practice in HRE
Scarcely used
h) Compass, manual for human rights education with young people
Scarcely used
i) Compasito, manual for human rights education with children
Scarcely used
j) Human Rights and Democracy Start with Us – Charter for All
Scarcely used
k) Curriculum development and review for democratic citizenship and human rights education
Moderately used
l) Multimedia Material (ex. video “Beat Bullying”, series of cartoons “Democracy and Human Rights at School”, video “Corporal punishment at school : how two parents decided to change things”)
Scarcely used
m) “Freedom(s) - Learning activities for secondary schools on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights
I do not know/Information not available
Other (please specify: ______)
If these resources were useful, please specify:
The link www.coe.int/fr/web/edc/resources appears on the site www.enseignement.be/citoyennete
If these resources were not useful, please specify:
Further comments
French community: Need to develop ECMS (education for global, socially responsible citizenship) tools in response to global interdependence.
Flemish Community: the tools and resources of the CoE are integrated in the materials and resources that are available for teachers.
QUESTIONS ON SPECIFIC ARTICLES OF THE CHARTER
SECTION 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 3. Relationship between education for democratic citizenship and human rights education
Q10 Is there a shared working definition of citizenship and human rights education in your country?
No
In case if there is no shared working definition of citizenship and human rights education, please explain why not:
It is important to separate these two concepts. There is no channel for reflection on this issue.
Please provide the name of the term in English and in original language as well as its definition and indicate the references and/or web link.
SECTION 2: OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES
Article 5. Objectives and Principles
Q11 In your country, to what extent do education laws, policies, and strategic objectives explicitly refer to citizenship and human rights education
a) … in formal education at pre-primary, primary and secondary level?
Extensively
b) … in vocational education and training?
Extensively
c) … in higher education?
Moderately
d) … in the training of education personnel?
Extensively
e) … in youth policy and non-formal education?
Extensively
In case if education laws, policies, and strategic objectives do refer explicitly to EDC/HRE, please specify:
In case if education laws, policies, and strategic objectives do not explicitly refer EDC/HRE, please explain why not:
SECTION 3: POLICIES
Article 6. Formal general and vocational education
Q12 In your country is education for democratic citizenship and human rights promoted as follows in schools and colleges:
a) specific subject matter – obligatory
c) cross-curricula approach
Please provide further details including web links where appropriate:
a) Citizenship classes starting in September 2016 (1 hour per week, compulsory) in subsidised public primary schools. Citizenship lessons are to be introduced as part of a cross-curricula approach in September 2016 in “free” primary schools: http://www.gallilex.cfwb.be/document/pdf/41979_000.pdf
c) Decree: http://www.gallilex.cfwb.be/document/pdf/31723_000.pdf
Further comments:
Flemish Community: Primary Education: part of Man and Society learning area. Secondary Education: cross curricular theme.
Q13 If citizenship and human rights education is included in the curricula in your country, has it been subject to revision and updating since 2012 at...
a) … pre-primary education?
No
b) … primary school?
Yes
c) … lower secondary school (including vocational)?
Yes
d) … upper secondary school (including vocational)?
Yes
If no, please explain why not:
French community: The process is due to begin in compulsory education only in September 2016.
Flemish community: The cross-curricular attainment targets for secondary education were revised in 2010. Now, in Flanders an update of the curriculum is planned for the whole of compulsory education. This will be based on scientific insights and a debate involving different stakeholders. From the public debate at the beginning of 2016 it became clear that a majority of respondents wants citizenship education to obtain a more central place in the curriculum.
If yes, then what are/were the key challenges? How will they be / how were they overcome?
To what extent was the revision and updating process inclusive and participatory?
A working group whose members were drawn from various sectors designed the content of the new course. The public debate mentioned above included pupils, teachers, parents and civil society organisations.
Further comments:
Article 7. Higher education
Q14 To what extent is citizenship and human rights education provision promoted in higher education institutions in your country?
Scarcely
If not at all or scarcely, please explain why:
If extensively, please explain why and provide examples:
"Kot à projets" "KAP'S"(a social, cultural and humanitarian project) http://www.uclouvain.be/40273
Call for projects - http://www.enseignement.be/index.php?page=25703&ne_id=2734
Further comments
French community: Setting-up of ARES. The Académie de recherche et d’enseignement supérieur is an umbrella organisation for French-speaking higher education institutions in Belgium.
Its role is to provide general co-ordination of their activities and to encourage them to work together http://www.ares-ac.be/fr/
Article 8. Democratic governance
Q15 In your country, are there any education laws, policies and strategies that promote democratic governance in educational institutions, particularly schools, concerning…
a) … decision making procedures (e.g. governing bodies / school boards)?
Yes
b) … school culture / rules?
Yes
c) … pupil / student participation (e.g. school / student councils)?
Yes
d) … parental / family involvement in schools (e.g. governing bodies / school boards)?
Yes
e) …school / community links (in and out of school)?
No
If yes, please specify:
French community: Legislation exists in this area – see the following links
http://www.gallilex.cfwb.be/document/pdf/31723_000.pdf
http://www.gallilex.cfwb.be/document/pdf/39269_000.pdf
http://www.gallilex.cfwb.be/fr/leg_res_01.php?ncda=21557&referant=l01
http://www.enseignement.be/index.php?page=25443
Flemish community: Decree on Participation, April 1st 2004
http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/participatie/ (general information)
The Decree on Participation provides school-bases participation for pupils via the pupil’s council (in primary and secondary education) and the pupil’s representation in the school council (only in secondary education).VSK is the voice of pupils concerning education. The governance of the organisation is completely in hands of pupils. The members of VSK are pupils’ councils, located all over Flanders. Their main aim is the support of pupils’ councils and advocacy of pupils at the different levels of policy.
If no, please explain why not:
French community: There is no legislation on the subject but in practice, there is an association called "CRECCIDE" which trains youngsters to serve on municipal youth councils.
http://www.creccide.org/
Further comments
Article 9. Training
Q16 In your country, is there a provision for citizenship and human rights education in initial teacher education, continuing professional development and other types of training for…
a) … teachers?
Yes
b) … school leaders?
Yes
c) … other education staff?
Yes
d) … youth leaders (in and out of school)?
Yes
e) … teacher trainers / trainers of trainers?
Yes
f) … parents?
To some extent
If yes, please specify:
As regards initial teacher training, a reform is under way. In-service training is fairly specialised in this area.
http://www.ifc.cfwb.be/
http://www.cecp.be/formation/
http://www.lecaf.be/
http://www.cpeons.be/page.asp?id=2&langue=FR
If no, please explain why not:
If to some extent, please specify:
We are not sure about this aspect. Very subjective.
Further comments
Provide examples of good practice:
Article 10. Role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), youth organisations and other stakeholders
Q17 To what extent, in your country, is there co-operation and support between the government and the following organisations and groups that foster citizenship and human rights education?
a) Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
To a little extent
b) Youth organisations
To a little extent
c) Community groups
To a little extent
d) Parents' groups
To a large extent
e) Other (please specify: ______)
If not at all or to a little extent, please explain why:
This is a matter for the schools to decide. Difficult to judge
If to a large extent, please explain the factors for success:
Provide examples of good practice:
Calls for projects which require partnership.
Further comments
French community: There are education officers within the NGOs.
The NGOs are financed by the federal government. There is support for the activities, therefore, but there is also room for improvement where dialogue/co-operation is concerned.
Flemish community: In 2015 the Committee on Society and Education was founded, embedded in the Flemish Education Council (Vlor). The main aim of this committee is to bring all education partners together involved in citizenship education and health education (pedagogical advisory services of the educational networks, ministry, teacher training, Flemish Pupils’ Council, parents’ associations, non-profit organisations, NGOs…) to exchange information and expertise, to facilitate and promote implementation, and to stimulate the whole-school approach
Article 11. Criteria for evaluation
Q18 In your country, have criteria been developed to evaluate the effectiveness of citizenship and human rights education programmes?
No
Further information:
French community: The evaluation will take place once the citizenship classes are up and running (specific inspection).
Please provide examples of how these criteria have been developed, reviewed and used:
Flemish community: Flanders participated in the 2009-2010 ICCS research and has participated again in 2016. In the framework of the National Assessment Programme (NAP) (peilingen) EDC was included in 2016 for the third grade of secondary education. Flanders also participates in the test phase of the Council of Europe's descriptors of competences for democratic culture. But the difficulty of evaluation and measuring effectiveness remains an important issue. It’s also a complex topic: skills and attitudes usually develop over a long period of time. Often, evaluation tools are not intended to measure changes over a longer period of time. Also: what is a ‘good’ citizen? What do we expect? What do we expect education to contribute (seeing the large impact of context and peers,…) This is a difficult issue.
To what extent have they been useful?
Provide examples of good practice:
Article 12. Research
Q19 In your country, to what extent has research been initiated and promoted on citizenship and human rights education to take stock of the current situation?
To a little extent
If not at all or to a little extent, please explain why:
French community: A study was conducted to take stock of the Education for Global Citizenship programme in secondary schools. There has also been a study on education in children’s rights. Both studies were undertaken at the instigation of the Global Citizenship Education sector, rather than the wider education sector: https://mi.addemar.com/files/a_alc/data/File/ALC/20150820_synthese_etude_ECM.pdf
A further study has been carried out by the Childhood, Youth, and Youth Protection Observatory (OEJAJ): http://www.oejaj.cfwb.be/index.php?id=publi_oejaj
What needs to be done to obtain stronger support for such research?
It needs to be a governmental priority.
Further comments
Flemish community: See information above concerning ICCS and national assesment programme. Flanders regularly participates in research. A research has been carried out on the needs of teachers in secondary education in EDC/HRE and Flanders participated in the GENE peer review of global education in 2016.
Article 13. Skills for promoting social cohesion, valuing diversity and handling differences and conflict
Q20 In your country, to what extent are educational approaches and teaching methods promoted that enable pupils/students to acquire competences to…
a) … promote social cohesion?
To a little extent
b) … value diversity and equality (particularly between different faiths and ethnic groups)?
To a little extent
c) … settle disagreements and conflicts in a non-violent manner?
To a little extent
d) … combat all forms of discrimination and violence (especially bullying)?
To a moderate extent
If not at all or to a little extent, please explain why:
What needs to be done to encourage more active promotion of such educational approaches and teaching methods?
- Sharing of resources
- Supervisory body
- Review of initial teacher training
- Awareness raising for teaching staff
Further comments
This is done through action by outside parties or through school projects.
SECTION 4: EVALUATION AND COOPERATION
Article 14. Evaluation and review
Q21 Has any action been taken or foreseen to evaluate strategies and policies undertaken in accordance with the aims and principles of the Charter?
No
If not, please explain why not:
The Statement of Community Policy contains no provisions to this effect.
If yes, please provide links to the relevant monitoring and evaluation reports:
What were the key conclusions?
Who takes part in the evaluation process?
Example of good practice:
Further comments:
Article 15. Co-operation in follow-up activities
Q22 In your country, have any co-operation activities with other countries been organised or planned in pursuing the aims and principles of the Charter?
No
If not, please explain why not:
Example of good practice:
What is required to encourage such cooperation activities?
Further comments
Article 16. International and European co-operation
Q23 In your country, is there co-operation and collaboration on citizenship and human rights education with the following organisations / institutions?
a) Council of Europe (CoE)
Yes
b) United Nations system (UN) (including UNESCO and UN OHCHR)
No
c) Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
No
d) European Union (EU) (including European Commission)
Yes
e) Other international/ European organisations
No
Please specify 'Other international/ European organisations'
What are your expectations from such cooperation?
That it will enable us to learn from good practice in other European countries.
To what extent are these expectations met?
How could such cooperation be made more useful?
French community: Accessibility of documents in French.
Further comments
Q24 In what ways is / can the Charter review process be of support to the countries? [Please rank from 1 (not useful)- 5 (very useful)]
a) An encouragement / motivation for stronger action and higher quality
4
b) An opportunity to promote good practice
5
c) A support tool for dialogue with other countries and within the country
4
d) Access to expertise from other countries and from international institutions
3
e) Other
Please specify other
Q25 What are your expectations from the Council of Europe? [Please indicate the current level of satisfaction from 1 (not useful) - 5 (very useful) for each expectation]
a) An encouragement / motivation for stronger action and higher quality
5
b) Opportunities for sharing and cooperation with other countries
3
c) Provision of a shared framework of reference / common standards
4
d) Impetus for dialogue and cooperation within the country
2
e) Authoritative encouragement to ensure respect of commitments
4
f) Technical advice / technical assistance
2
g) Access to the network of key actors in the member states through the Committee of Ministers, Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress of local and regional authorities and the INGO Conference and the HR Commissioner as well as various monitoring bodies (such as ECRI) as a means of raising visibility of EDC/HRE
3
h) Other
Please specify other
Q26 What are the key challenges to the promotion and development of citizenship and human rights education in your country? (Please indicate the level of impact of each challenge)
a) Lack of priority among decision makers (other areas given more priority)
High impact
b) Lack of awareness/interest/support among education professionals
Medium impact
c) Impact of the economic crisis/recession
Low impact
d) Reduction/cuts in funding
Medium impact
e) Decentralised education system
High impact
f) Changing political context (e.g. change of government)
Medium impact
g) Reduction of support networks (NGOs, parent and youth groups etc.)
Medium impact
h) Lack of public interest and support
High impact
i) Lack of media interest and support
High impact
j) Lack of support from European organisations (Council of Europe, EU etc.)
Medium impact
k)Other
Please specify other
Further comments (half a page maximum):
FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONNAIRE
There are plans to repeat this questionnaire in 5 years’ time to get a further sense of the progress of the States Party to the European Cultural Convention in pursuing the aims and principles for citizenship and human rights education promoted by the present Charter. It is also proposed to design the questionnaire focusing on particular areas.
Q27 What particular areas should the follow-up Questionnaire focus on for the next review cycle? (Please indicate the level of priority for each area)
a) Formal general (pre-primary, primary and secondary school) and vocational education
High
b) Higher education
High
c) Pre-school education
Medium
d) Democratic governance of educational institutions
Medium
e) Training (initial and on-going)
High
f) Role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), youth organisations and other stakeholders
High
g) Criteria for evaluation
Medium
h) Research
Medium
i) Social cohesion, valuing diversity and handling differences and conflict
Medium
j) Evaluation and review
Medium
k) International and European co-operation
Medium
l) Other
Please specify other
Q28 How can this questionnaire be improved in order to ensure that the data collection is meaningful and useful in terms of encouraging further progress in citizenship and human rights education?
Q29 To what extent the process of preparation of the reply to this questionnaire was constructive and participatory? [Please rank from 1 (poor)- 5 (excellent)]
4
Further comments:
FOCUS GROUP 2016: PARLIAMENTARIANS
NB: The questions below are to be addressed to the Education Commission in the National Parliament or other similar bodies
Please indicate which body has been contacted
Commission de l'éducation FWB [Education Commission, Wallonia-Brussels Federation].
Q30 Would you agree that citizenship and human rights education is a means to address…
a) … violent extremism and radicalisation leading to terrorism?
To a great extent
b) … integration of migrants and refugees?
To a great extent
c) … consequences of the economic crisis / austerity measures / social exclusion?
To a little extent
d) … the deficit of democratic participation of both vulnerable and non-vulnerable groups in society with the overall aim of building cohesive and equitable societies?
To a great extent
Further comments:
Q31 What legislation has been adopted in the last 5 years or is in preparation, with a view to support and promote citizenship and human rights education?
DASPA http://www.enseignement.be/index.php/index.php?page=23677&navi=117
Fight against radicalisation http://www.enseignement.be/index.php?page=25703&ne_id=2213
Q32 What are the thematic areas of education of particular concern to your Committee in this respect?
- Fight against radicalisation
- Treatment of migrants
- Roma
Q33 Do you have any further comments to make not provided elsewhere? If so, please use the space below.
Q34 Further comments on citizenship and human rights education in the country:
Other contributors contacted by the respondent, including representatives of:
1. Ministries:
Ministry of Education
2. Research institutions:
3. Education professionals:
4. Civil society organisations:
a. Teachers organisations:
b Youth organisations
c Children organisations
d Parents organisations
5. National human rights institutions
6. Parliaments
7. Local and regional authorities
8. International institutions
UNICEF Belgium; UNESCO; Network of UNESCO Associated Schools with global citizen focus
9. Medias
10. Others
CTB - Annoncer la couleur – Global citizenship education programme
ACODEV – Federation of NGOs specialising in development co-operation
