Mind the gap: incorporating human rights into the curricula of undergraduate business degrees

Abstract

Business and Human Rights education can potentially provide future business leaders the tools to fulfil their responsibilities towards society, thereby strengthening the protection of human rights and the environment. Notwithstanding, the lack of BHR education in Business schools at the undergraduate level is a missed opportunity to frame the students’ perspectives on business within a human rights and environmental lens from the start of their education. As such, this research aims to discuss the need of having BHR education in undergraduate Business degrees, as well as to characterise its current practice and analyse its ideal practice. To achieve this goal, the author carried out 15 semi-structured interviews with BHR experts followed by a qualitative analysis of eight undergraduate BHR-related course syllabi and the data collected in the interviews. The study found there is a consensus regarding the optimal learning outcomes, main topics and teaching methods. The optimal incorporation of BHR in the curricula would be a specialised compulsory BHR course together with the integration of BHR education across the curriculum. This requires a concerted effort from the educational committee. The successful integration of BHR at the undergraduate level could pave the way to more responsible business leaders in the future. Keywords: Business and Human Rights, Human Rights Education, Business schools, education, teaching.