Human rights law defines the expectations placed on the states (duty-bearers) that ratify international treaties and the corollary expectations of children (rights-holders) within education. It establishes qualified prescriptions for action while offering a framework for enacting reconciliations between the sometimes competing demands of society, education systems and schools and the individual student. When disputes arise about the content of curricula, dress codes, disciplinary sanctions and/or the nature of educational provision itself, human rights law is invoked frequently by those involved as a way of resolving conflicting demands. Geneva, as the birthplace and primary home of the UN’s global human rights system, is a fitting place to reflect on its value and limitations within education. This paper will track the evolution of the right to education, drawing on a number of case studies from across Europe to consider whether and, if so, it has offered a useful approach for reconciling the oft competing interests of the state, the public, parents/ guardians and the children who are the primary rights-holders. The paper will conclude with a consideration of what an explicit children’s rights-based approach might offer educational practitioners and researchers, with an emphasis on the entitlement of children to be involved in shaping not just education systems but understanding of human rights to, in and through education.

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