The Aims of Education and Initial Teachers’ Education: A Rights-Based Comparative Study of Five Countries

Abstract A qualitative direct content analysis is used to explore how Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), is embedded into the national educational policy of five countries (Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland) by how it is addressed in their respective Initial Teacher Education (ITE) curriculum. The study analysed documents at the national, programme and course levels. Findings from this cross-country comparison suggest the five aims of Article 29 are addressed to varying degrees but all to an extent that fails to do justice to the legal and moral commitment required of parties to the CRC. With this study, we argue that the responsibility to fulfil the legal obligations for the aims of education should be addressed at the structural and institutional levels in national and university guidelines.