The trinational project DemoS (Demokratie gemeinsam erleben), conducted by the University of Konstanz (Germany), Pädagogische Hochschule Vorarlberg (Austria) and Pädagogische Hochschule St. Gallen (Switzerland), encouraged teachers at all levels to explore new approaches to fostering participation in their lessons. Participating teachers were introduced to action research (Reitinger, 2023) as a method to generate insights into processes of participation. The intention to promote participation within lessons was based on a significant finding from previous research in these three countries: Pupils perceive greater opportunities for participation in decisions affecting the whole school community than in those related to classroom lessons (Quenzel, Beck & Jungkunz, 2023).

The action research at the Pädagogische Hochschule St. Gallen took place during a course on general didactics. One of the main topics was understanding the cognitive potential of tasks. The lecturer aimed to engage students in participatory decision-making regarding the test and assessment - a particularly sensitive aspect of the course. Initially, the lecturer presented his "Version 1" of the test: candidates were to design two tasks for pupils of a specific age group and domain, then analyze these tasks in relation to the course content. Subsequently, the students were invited to propose a "Version 2" of the test, showcasing the competencies they had developed during the course. The assessment criteria for this version were also discussed collaboratively between the students and the lecturer. In their proposal, the students suggested moving away from creating two artificial tasks as required in Version 1. Instead, they opted to analyze a real task they had used during their preceding internship.

The aim was to allow the students to experience what it means to express their views on a meaningful matter and to be heard in an administrative proceeding, in line with Article 12 of the CRC. If teachers aim to facilitate their pupils' participation, they must engage in these processes, shift their roles, and reflect on their responsibilities (Prengel & Winklhofer, 2014).

The evaluation results indicate that students valued the opportunity to express their views and appreciated the fact that their suggestions were discussed and applied (QM PHSG, 2023).

This paper presents the initial outcomes of an innovation project at the School of Education Bern (Berne University) (Conrad et al. 2024). The project aims to integrate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) into teacher education by adopting a Whole Institution Approach (WIA) and using the CRC as a foundational framework for developing teacher’s professional competencies. The initiative aligns with Switzerland’s ratification of the CRC in 1997, which mandates the integration of the rights of the child into societal and educational frameworks. It also addresses critiques from the UN Committee (2021) regarding the insufficient knowledge of the CRC among Swiss professionals working with children. This obligation is further emphasized in UNICEF’s 2021 Alternative Report, where children called for schools to better uphold their rights.

According to the Lehrplan 21 (D-EDK, 2016), the CRC is a mandatory content of the curriculum for the subject Natur, Mensch, Gesellschaft (NMG). This ensures that engaging with the CRC is no longer incidental and all young people are necessarily introduced to the Rights of the Child, though it varies how the respective competences are built up (see Rinaldi et al., 2020; Rinalid, 2017). However, a merely sporadic inclusion of the CRC is insufficient for it to unfold its transformative impact on education and society (see e.g. Verhellen, 2015). Addressing this gap, the innovation project "Child’s Rights Oriented Teaching and Learning – Embedding the Rights of the Child in Teacher Education" was launched at the School of Education in Berne.

The project seeks to embed a children's rights perspective into various modules such as curriculum learning, social sciences and education and across different institutes including primary education, secondary education, special needs education, and continuous professional development and making continuous references between the contents of the modules and the CRC.

To achieve this goal, lecturers from different disciplines and institutes within the School of Education are introduced to the fundamentals of the CRC. To simplify the complex content for those with limited prior knowledge, the four general principles of the Convention were used as entry points, namely non-discrimination (Article 2), prioritizing the child’s best interests (Article 3), the right to life and development (Article 6), respect for the child’s views (Article 12) (see Lundy & Byrne, 2017). Alternatively, some lecturers worked with Lundy’s model of participation (Lundy, 2007). This model focuses on fostering space, voice, audience, and influence, emphasizing participatory rights as central to education. Both approaches reframe the child as an active rights holder and shifts the teacher’s role from knowledge transmitter to facilitator of autonomy and participation, reflecting a constructivist and competence-oriented pedagogy (Conrad et al. i.P.). The various modules then used the CRC as tools for analysis in planning and reflection, enriching students’ professional competencies and broadening their appreciation of rights-oriented pedagogy. The project contributes to a paradigm shift by aligning education with the legal status of children as rights holders. By bridging theoretical understanding with practical application, the project demonstrates how the CRC can transform teaching and learning environments to foster equity and justice in education.

Key findings highlight the transformative potential of embedding a child’s rights perspective into teacher education. Students developed a deeper understanding of differentiated and inclusive teaching and recognizing children as autonomous agents. Future steps include consolidating these methodologies, sharing findings, and fostering inter-institutional collaboration to strengthen implementation by extending the network of people integrating a child’s rights-oriented lens in their teaching and learning.

The right to education is both a fundamental children’s right in itself and a means to achieve other children’s rights (Tomaševski, 2001). Children’s rights, as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, serve as both a foundational principle of education, which must be upheld at all times, and as an educational objective. Consequently, it is essential that teachers develop the professional competencies necessary to implement the right to education in their practice (Rinaldi, 2017; Vranješević et al., 2022).

This paper examines and critically discusses two programmes offered by the University of Teacher Education Lucerne. The first is the specialisation study programme “Human Rights Education” part of a series of compulsory elective pre-service training courses. This programme consists of four one-week modules spread across four semesters. Guided by the principles of education about, through, and for human rights (Fritzsche et al., 2018) and in accordance with the idea of “living and learning democracy and human rights” (Gehrig, 2018, n.p.), teacher candidates explore human rights, children’s rights, and democracy within the contexts of their own lives and society. They also experience these concepts outside the classroom and apply them in their teaching practice and broader school settings. The first module explores human rights, children’s rights, and democracy, examining their interconnections with schools. The second module shifts focus to human rights actors, with particular emphasis on teachers as key actors for children’s rights and human rights. In the third module, participants undertake a field excursion, gaining first-hand experience of children’s rights and human rights in locations such as The Hague, Geneva, or Berlin. The final module allows students to apply their enhanced competencies in democracy and human rights education, as outlined by Gehrig (2018, pp. 36–37). Participants develop practical examples of implementation, designing their own educational sequences centred on children’s rights, democracy, and human rights. These sequences are then presented, discussed, and refined collaboratively, ensuring they are ready for integration into professional practice.

The second programme is an in-service training initiative conducted in collaboration with the University of Teacher Education St. Gallen, culminating in the Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) “Living, Learning, and Teaching Children’s Rights, Democracy, and Human Rights”. This programme integrates democratic education, human rights education, and citizenship education, aiming to enhance teachers’ and other school professionals’ capacities to create children’s rights-based and democracy-based school environments. Over four modules, participants engage with theoretical and practical concepts related to children’s rights, democracy, and human rights from an interdisciplinary perspective. They also explore concrete strategies for implementing democratic education and children’s rights education in their professional contexts. Regular opportunities for practitioner exchange are provided, bridging theory and practice. By bringing together educators, social workers, school leaders, and other professionals, the programme seeks to foster a holistic approach to children’s rights in education.

The two programmes will be presented and analysed by applying Baumert & Kunter’s (2011) model of professional teacher competencies to the fields of children’s rights education, democratic education, and citizenship education. Particular attention will be given to the interplay between goals, content, and methods. To this end, selected student projects and the results of various evaluation methods will be examined and critically discussed.

An interdisciplinary perspective is essential to understanding the complexity of children’s rights, integrating viewpoints from psychology, sociology, law, and education (Moody & Darbellay, 2019). Education on children’s rights requires a multidimensional approach, which goes beyond access to education, considering how children experience and exercise their rights within the school context (Louviot et al., 2019). This approach helps create school environments that respect children's rights, promote active participation, and improve engagement and well-being at school (Moody, 2020).

Within the interdisciplinary master’s program in children’s rights at the University of Geneva, the curriculum is structured around the exploration of children’s rights from various disciplinary and then interdisciplinary perspectives (Hanson, 2008). This program offers foundational and interdisciplinary approaches to children’s rights in the first semester, followed by an in-depth study in the second semester on specific interdisciplinary themes, such as education. The interdisciplinary seminar titled “Children’s Rights, Education and Creativity” focuses on theoretical teachings on children’s rights, creativity, interculturality, and 21st-century skills. Professionals, including directors of alternative schools (e.g., Montessori), are invited to contribute, linking theory with practical realities in education. The emphasis is on collaborative and interdisciplinary work dynamics, with nearly 40 students from various disciplines, such as education sciences, law, international relations, sociology, social work, political science, and psychology. This interdisciplinary collaboration enables a creative process essential to aligning their work with 21st-century skills, including critical thinking, creativity, and openness to the unexpected (Darbellay, 2022).

Students are divided into groups representing various school actors (students, parents, teachers, administration, etc.) and are tasked with conceptualizing a “child-friendly” school based on the various dimensions studied during the seminar. The principles of “child-friendly” schools, inspired by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, advocate for child-centered, equitable, community-involving educational approaches. These schools aim to improve learning outcomes and ensure that every child fully exercises their right to education (Chabbott, 2004). They acknowledge the differences between children and adults, promote accessibility, reduce discrimination, and support active child participation (Louviot, 2020).

In this contribution, we will present and analyze the training framework implemented during this seminar using the curricular alignment framework (Anderson, 2002) to highlight the coherence between learning objectives, content taught, learning activities, and assessment methods. We will detail the educational activities carried out with the students, including collaborative work and creativity techniques such as the World Café. We will also share examples of written work produced by students in groups, analyzing how these demonstrate the acquisition of key concepts and interdisciplinary skills targeted in the seminar. Finally, we will analyze feedback from students’ anonymous evaluations of the seminar to provide a critical view on the curricular alignment of the framework and the understanding of children’s rights in education developed by the students.