Curricular proposal to strengthen human rights education in the law career
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63688/mrpfpm58Keywords:
Human rights, higher education, legal education, curriculum reform, competency-based approachAbstract
This research thesis analyzes the relevance and necessity of incorporating a Human Rights course into the Law program curriculum at the Universidad de Aquino de Bolivia (UDABOL), La Paz campus, with the aim of strengthening the ethical, legal, and social formation of future professionals. The study is based on the premise that human rights education is an essential pillar for consolidating democracy and social justice (UN, 2019; UNESCO, 2022), promoting critical competencies and ethical values that guide legal practice toward equity and human dignity (Nussbaum, 2011). In Bolivia, despite constitutional and normative advances in this area, university education still presents significant curricular gaps that hinder the internalization of these principles (Campero, 2011). This research seeks to contribute to the academic debate on curricular reform in coherence with the Political Constitution of the State (2009) and international treaties ratified by Bolivia, highlighting the role of higher education in promoting a culture of human rights (Vargas, 2018). Methodologically, the study followed a mixed approach, descriptive and propositional in nature, based on the methodological frameworks of Sampieri (2010) and Creswell (2014). Surveys, interviews, and documentary analyses of curricular grids and academic standards were applied, allowing for the integration of quantitative and qualitative perspectives for a broader and contextualized understanding of the educational phenomenon. The results reveal that the absence of specific training in human rights limits the comprehensive preparation of students and their ability to respond to constitutional and international challenges in professional practice. It is concluded that the inclusion of this subject is viable, relevant, and urgent, and that its implementation would strengthen an educational model aimed at the active defense of fundamental rights, intercultural understanding, and the social responsibility of Bolivian lawyers in the 21st century.
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