This year marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, one of the most important documents in human history. Otherwise known as the Great Charter, it was signed into effect by King John in 1215, who was suitably persuaded by a gang of rebellious barons who basically wanted him to be more accountable (and ultimately more democratic).

One of its most famous passages states: "No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land."

It influenced the development of the common law in England and, since then, has inspired the formation of many constitutional documents throughout the world. Additionally, many of the sentiments expressed in the Magna Carta can be found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, itself one of the most profound pieces of text to have ever been written.

As it notes in its preamble: "Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world."

While the fundamental importance of this is not lost, many are nevertheless concerned with how well informed people are of the actual declaration and the concept of human rights as it stands today. And, according to a study published at the start of the year from TES and Amnesty International UK, educators are certainly of the opinion that a knowledge gap is evident.

The overwhelming majority of teachers polled said that they would like to see human rights added to the national curriculum, with 47 per cent saying that they do not believe youngsters fully comprehend the idea of human rights. Worryingly, 46 per cent of teachers said that they don't think their pupils have "no awareness" of their own human rights.

"I think there are a lot of children who don’t understand what they’re entitled to and that human rights belong to everybody," Alice Edwards, education officer at Amnesty International UK, commented at the time. "It can almost be read that some people have human rights and some people don’t."

Getting it onto the national curriculum, advocates of this proposal believe, will go a long way in deepening society's knowledge of human rights. After all, the effective teaching of it can be achieved through all subjects, such is the universal nature of this most basic and important moral principle.

Ms Edwards said at the time, for example, that maths could examine the wealth divide of nations across the world, while English could be used to develop writing skills through campaign-related letters. "Make it clear that human rights isn’t a stand-alone issue," she explained. "It actually penetrates everything. It belongs to me, it belongs to you, it belongs to everybody."

The argument for promoting human rights education from an early age is the fact that being self-aware in this regard helps to develop a strong, independent character, embedding in them personal attributes that will allow them to flourish in later life. Moreover, it makes them more conscious of the importance of being engaged in their community and the wider world. Ultimately, this is somewhat lacking today.

This was highlighted by Jessica Barnecutt, a teacher at Oaklands School in East London, at the start of the year. Speaking to TES, she explained that while pupils can appreciate human rights in terms of more explicit examples of when it has been compromised, when it comes to how it relates to their own lives, they fall short of comprehension.  

"Some of our kids [who take on caring responsibilities at home] are very grown up very young," Ms Barnecutt said. "They have a lot of responsibility. They might not see that as an infringement of their human rights but I would.

"It’s like any subject: some students grasp it more quickly than others. Even I find it quite hard to define. It means freedom and being able to express your views, and not being subject to persecution for any reason. But I teach maths. I’m not a words person."

It'll be interesting to see how the future government – post-General Election - responds to such calls. Consider, for example, how contentious the Human Rights Act has been since it was passed in 1998 and you can appreciate how politically and legally complex the principle is. And that's not even considering how it is understood at culturally, in terms of faith and personal opinion.

Nevertheless, everyone can agree that human rights are important. As the Burmese opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi noted in Freedom from Fear: "Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day.

"Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity."