HVO - onderwijs en opvoeding in humanistisch perspectief || Humanist ethical and worldview education

A (legal) right for children

Children in the state primary schools in the Netherlands have a legal right to receive religious instruction or ideological-ethical education during school hours. From the 1969-70 school year, humanists have made a concrete contribution to this by offering humanist ethical and worldview education (hewe). Because of the separation of church and state, the state is not responsible for the content and organization of this education, but it is the responsibility of the Dutch Humanist League. Because of a lack of sufficient funds, humanist ethical and worldview education can at present only be offered at a third of state primary schools. Teachers of this subject are trained and guided by HVO, the Dutch Centre for Humanist Ethical and Worldview Education.

Humanist ethical and worldview education in practice
The essence of humanist ethical and worldview education is to guide students to moral self-guidance so that they can take personal responsibility for their own lives and in commitment to others. Humanist ethical and worldview education in practice has given rise to a special methodology (recognize, examine, choose, evaluate) for this, which is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive. This methodology gives hewe-teachers a structure, a frame within which to plan and to develop their themed lessons. It allows for a variety of working methods, such as play and role-playing, different forms of dialogue and discussion, the use of visual and auditive forms to stimulate all senses and all kinds of other creative working methods, which all reinforce the objective of humanist ethical education. Important subjects in hewe-lessons are friendship, childrens’ rights, being different, feasts, pets, feelings, happiness, sorrow, mourning and many other aspects from the pupils’ perception of their environment.

With humanist ethical and worldview education, humanists offer children a methodically well-thought-out course in becoming responsibly autonomous, directed at their moral, socio-emotional and identity development.

Guiding principles in humanist ethical and worldview education
The guiding principles in humanist ethical and worldview education are the images of man as a master in the art of social living and as a committed citizen of the world. The art of living in society ‘is an inspiration, an urge for renewal, a long-term process in which two values are welded together which had been driven apart: a fundamental skill to navigate through one’s own life and a many-sided involvement in the fortunes of others. And that not out of duty or self-sacrifice, but as the fulfilment of a happy human existence’ (Manschot, 2000). Committed citizenship of the world emphasizes the involvement with the fortunes of others beyond local, regional or national boundaries. Many parents opt for humanist ethical education because it has been found to be an additional preparation for life in the democratic society.

A taste of humanist ethical and worldview education
To give you a taste of humanist ethical and worldview education, a book of lesson plans and teaching suggestions for humanist ethical education is published, called Mastering the art of living and becoming a citizen of the world, it isn´t something that just happens. It offers an insight into the special contribution humanists make in the Netherlands through their life and worldview education at public schools. You can order the book via Publications.