Las universidades y otras instituciones de educación superior son uno de los agentes centrales en llevar a la práctica un enfoque de sostenibilidad transformadora basado en la educación sobre, a través y por los derechos humanos. Así pues, este enfoque requiere no solo conocimientos o experiencias concernientes a los derechos humanos en ambientes académicos sino también la ejecución de acciones directas en la lucha por dichos derechos. Si bien este enfoque de educación superior es particularmente imprescindible en los momentos históricos actuales caracterizados por la polarización y la desinformación, no siempre es fácil de interpretarlo y llevarlo a cabo dentro de un marco universitario neoliberal regido por la racionalidad económica de la gestión por ganancias. A fin de contribuir con una mayor compresión sobre el rol de la educación superior por los derechos humanos, esta contribución presenta un análisis temático de 88 artículos de la prensa española y sueca de mayor difusión, enfocado en los encuadres mediáticos sobre el activismo académico en relación con las violaciones de los derechos humanos ejercida por Israel en Gaza. El resultado de esta investigación discute e ilustra marcos categóricos presentes en encuadres mediáticos que problematizan y cuestionan la legitimidad del activismo en el ámbito universitario, y por consecuencia las acciones académicas por los derechos humanos como cuestión educativa. Estos tipos de encuadres mediáticos coexisten y se contraponen con un tipo de encuadres donde se reconoce las manifestaciones universitarias y las demandas de boicot contra Israel como una misión de la educación superior de hacer resistencia y oposición a todo tipo violación contra los derechos humanos.

Universities and other higher education institutions are key players in implementing a transformative sustainability approach based on education about, through and for human rights. This approach therefore requires not only knowledge or experience of human rights in academic settings, but also direct action in the fight for those rights.Although this approach to higher education is particularly essential in the current historical moment, characterised by polarisation and misinformation, it is not always easy to interpret and implement within a neoliberal university framework governed by the economic rationality of profit-driven management. In order to contribute to a greater understanding of the role of higher education in human rights, this contribution presents a thematic analysis of 88 articles from the Spanish and Swedish press focusing on the media framing of academic activism in relation to human rights violations committed by Israel in Gaza. The results of this research discuss and illustrate categorical frameworks present in media framing that problematise and question the legitimacy of activism in the university sphere, and consequently academic actions for human rights as an educational issue. These types of media frames coexist and contrast with a type of frames that recognises university demonstrations and calls for a boycott against Israel as part of higher education's mission to resist and oppose all types of human rights violations.

This article introduces and discusses a conceptual theory of educational equity based on the interplay of the three dimensions of justice (redistribution, recognition, and representation) identified by Nancy Fraser to capture how the acceleration of globalization processes affects the understanding and enactment of equity in education and society. Here, Fraser’s three dimensions of justice are used as an analytical tool to develop a theoretical framework for studies of equity in education and to illustrate the interplay of the three central resources for equity: financial and knowledge resources, teacher and instruction qualities, and students. In the article, it is argued that we argue that the likelihood of success of policy measures to achieve equity is favored by the insights on the interplay of these dimensions, which are perceived as complementary rather than in opposition. A lack of understanding of the interplay risks equity in education being impacted negatively.

This study, using a socio-ecological model of bullying, examines how school staff, in a Swedish municipality, identify and deal with cyberbullying among primary school pupils, focusing on gender differences to better inform staff participation in the municipality’s anti-bullying strategy. Twenty-five (25) semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff members (including non-teaching staff). Results indicate that cyberbullying, predominantly occurring outside school, impacts educational activities and practices within it. Results also suggest a higher prevalence of cyberbullying among girls. Seven anti-­cyberbullying strategies employed by school staff to identify, intervene in, prevent and deal with cyberbullying among primary school pupils were indicated, providing additional insights into the unique socio-ecological context in which cyberbullying takes place, characterized by ubiquitous ‘twenty-four-seven’ availability. The implications of identifying cyberbullying and addressing initiatives related to this form of bullying in schools are also discussed.

There is strong support for educating children and young people about their human rights, but there is also widespread uncertainty about what this education should consist of—what the content of children’s human rights education should be. This article maps and synthesizes what previous research has identified as the main content areas and suggests a terminology for talking about content in education about, through and for rights. Drawing on two theoretical perspectives on educational content—the powerful knowledge approach and Didaktik theory—a vocabulary for identifying different kinds of content was generated and used to analyze intended, enacted or suggested content displayed in earlier research. The findings show that high attention is paid to content in education about rights, which is demonstrated in almost all publications in a well-elaborated and detailed manner. In contrast, content in education through rights is found to be little addressed and elaborated in the analyzed research. Meagre elaboration is also the case for content in education for rights, although this is displayed in a higher number of publications. Content themes for education about, through and for rights are identified and described, and these are suggested to serve as a basis for further research.

The systematic attacks against the civilian population in Gaza, including educational institutions, constitute war crimes that violate the right to education and affect not only children but also an entire culture’s ability to recover post-conflict and maintain its identity. This document review analysed the reports issued by Nations agencies to identify the types of violence that occur in educational contexts, the victims of such violence, the impact on the rights to and within education, and the educational measures implemented in response. A thematic analysis guided by Karma Nabulsi’s concept of “scholasticide”, Rita Segato’s “pedagogy of cruelty”, and Sara Ahmed’s “witness” was conducted. The findings reveal that the attacks on educational spaces can be interpreted as ideological strategies against the Palestinian culture due to their critical role in cultural resilience and the recovery of the Palestinian people. The reports highlight significant limitations in recognising education as a priority dimension within the framework of international humanitarian aid. Finally, the analysed documents show that children in Gaza experience feelings of abandonment based on the inaction of the international community to guarantee their right to be free from all kinds of violence.

The aim of the current study was to examine whether students’ perceptions of teacher support at an individual-level, teacher support and well-functioning class climate at classroom-level, and teacher support and well-functioning class climate at school-level were associated with peer victimization. Data were obtained from a Student School Survey administered by the selected Swedish municipality. Multilevel analyses were based on 5,646 students in 277 classes and 27 schools. At the individual-level, girls and students who perceived greater teacher support than their classmates were victimized less often by their peers. In addition, students in schools with classes characterized by greater cooperation, cohesion, working atmosphere and respect toward their teachers tended to score lower on peer victimization. Within schools, students belonging to classes with a more well-functioning class climate than what was average in the school, and students belonging to classes that scored their teacher as more caring, fair and respectful compared to other classes in the school, were less likely to be targets of peer victimization.

Anti-bullying programme-tweaking based on prevalence estimates at school- and classroom-level in a Swedish municipality

Research topic/aim

Estimated prevalence of bullying depends on the measurement strategies involved (Bjereld, Augustine & Thornberg, 2020). While the Nordic Countries, in international comparisons, have had lower prevalence estimates, rates in Sweden have shown increased prevalence in recent years (op.cit.). Differences in measurement methods also reflect differing conceptualisations of bullying.

Theoretical framework

At least nine bully types have been described (Goldbach, Sterzing & Stuart, 2018). When “low frequency involvement” has been included, accumulated prevalence rates of up to 70% have been posited (op.cit.). In countries with lower prevalences of bullying, between-school differences are also lower (Johansson, Myrberg & Toropova, 2022). The present study uses a well-tried estimate of school-children’s exposure to intentional degrading treatment and bullying victimisation (Flygare, Gill & Johansson, 2013).

Methodological design

The analysis undertaken seeks to replicate an earlier population study (all 4th to 9th grade school-children in a Swedish municipality). In that study (Gill, Simonsson & Matton, 2017), data at school- and classroom-level for boys and girls, deemed post hoc to be victims of bullying, at two measurements within the school-year (October 2016, and March 2017), were used to “paint a picture” of the intervention challenge. The intervention programme (“Gävlemodellen”, Gill, et al., 2016) was offered to municipal schools for voluntary participation in 2013. An initial group of 6 municipal schools expanded to include all schools within the municipality by 2016/17. The present study will follow-up the 2016/2017 population study, targeting all 7200 pupils, in 29 schools, distributed among 280 classrooms. The analysis will complement the VR-financed (2023) research project “Associations between the social climate in school, classroom and school class, peer victimization, bullying and student engagement over time” (Thornberg, 2023). Specifically, patterns of distribution of victims, at 6-year-follow-up, will be compared with a view to possible revisions and developments in the intervention design.

Expected conclusions/findings

The measure used to estimate bullying is indirect and does not use an a priori prescriptive definition. Pupils are asked if certain things have happened to them, “in the last couple of months” (teased, hit, pushed, excluded, nasty messages on social media etc. Pupils are then asked for their perception of why the event (or events) occurred. Respondents are categorized (discrete measure), as bullied (victims) or not (see Flygare, Gill & Johansson, 2013, and Swedish National Agency for Education, 2011 for details). Descriptive statistics will demonstrate the importance of not basing bullying prevention on a “general case”. Victimhood varies over time, by gender, and within and between schools. The goal is to explore how differences between the 29 schools and between classrooms within schools (from no victims to gender specific clusters) can be used for “program tweaking” the intervention strategy.

Relevance to Nordic educational research

Reduced bullying prevalence in Nordic countries creates new intervention challenges. Lessons and challenges from population data in a Swedish municipality can have relevance for all 1053 Nordic municipalities.