Historical Narratives of Justice and Human Rights in Legal and Civic Education: Axiological Shifts in Cultural Transmission

Abstract

This qualitative study examines how legal and civic education mediate axiological shifts in historical narratives of justice and human rights. Grounded in axiology and philosophy of culture, it conceptualizes education as an active site of value negotiation where universal human rights discourses intersect with culturally specific traditions, producing hybrid value configurations rather than uniform transmission. Addressing gaps in existing scholarship—particularly the limited application of sustained philosophical analysis to human rights education—the study employs a critical hermeneutic approach to analyze historical documents, legal texts, curricula, and comparative case studies from post-apartheid South Africa, post-communist Eastern Europe, and the United States. It traces the historical evolution of justice narratives, examines jurisprudential foundations and legal pedagogy, and analyzes civic and history education as key mechanisms of cultural transmission. Findings reveal that education functions as a primary arena of axiological negotiation, where values are selectively reinforced, contested, and transformed. Transitional societies tend to utilize education for deliberate value rupture and reconstruction, while established democracies exhibit ongoing contestation between universalist and particularist narratives. A critical synthesis highlights the persistent dialectic between universalism and cultural specificity, as well as education’s dual role as both reproductive and transformative. The study contributes to philosophy of culture by advancing a processual understanding of value formation and offers practical insights for developing reflexive educational frameworks that balance global human rights norms with cultural sensitivity.