Abstract
The present paper displays the results of a psycho-pedagogical study carried out in the Arges County focused on the child’s rights in school. The purpose of this research was to make a survey among the teaching staff, mainly those teaching civic education, regarding the opportunity of introducing the subject
Keywords: Child’s rightsschool curriculumsocial-civic competences
1. Paper rationale
The education and the democratic processes in the European schools are reinforced by regulations of
the European education policy where the civic education implies political literacy, critical thinking and
analytical skills, civic attitudes and values, active participation and involvement in school life and in
the community in which they live. Acquiring critical thinking and analytical skills is essential for the
development of the skills the citizens need to govern the society. The training / development of certain
civic values, attitudes and behaviours that young people should acquire through civic education in
school are clearly expressed in all European documents of educational policy. The UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child (1990), the Treaty of Lisbon (2009) The Action Plan of the Commission for the
implementation of Stockholm Programme (2010), The ‘Europe 2020’ Strategy (European Commission,
2010) are key documents which pay particular attention to children’s rights, so that they can benefit
from better education, from the access to the services and the resources they need to grow, as well as
from a solid protection of their rights. The EU Agenda for the Rights of the Child (2011) calls on the
Member States to renew their commitment in order to intensify their efforts to protect and promote the
children’s rights. The EU Agenda objectives for children’s rights (***, 2011) also aim at:
--A child friendly justice, taking into account the children’s specific needs and vulnerability;
-Protecting children in situations of vulnerability, for the children who run the risk of poverty
and social exclusion, children with disabilities, asylum seekers and Roma or missing children; -
in particular, to combat violence against children, child labour, involvement of children in
armed groups and sex tourism; -
In support of the last objective, a single entry point
clear objectives and on forming the 8 key- competences for a solid profile of the secondary-school
graduate. An important principle underlying the current master plan is to provide the teacher with time
for innovation and creativity in the classroom, accompanied by open educational resources. Thus, 75%
of class time will be dedicated to the teaching-learning-assessment process and 25% remain available
for remedial activities - retrieval or consolidation, according to the classroom needs. Learning and
practising democratic behaviours in school, formation of civic attitudes and behaviours make children
act in accordance with the social norms and values and later adopt corresponding behaviours in society
(Dimitriu, 2005). Civic behaviours based on democratic values and principles are learnt and practised
both in the classroom and in school and outside school. The participation in decision-making within the
school board, the students’ opportunity to express their views in various representative school
structures are teaching ways through which children get the direct contact with various forms of the
democratic practices, in order to understand the democratic mechanism. Bîrzea C. (2000: 50)
emphasizes the mission of the educational systems “
It is necessary to form civic competences as part of the children’s permanent social learning in order
to teach them to become citizens in a democratic society. Acquiring civic skills begins in kindergarten
(the experiential
Education only in the 3rd and the 4th grades in primary school and then in secondary school, over
another two years, in the 7th and the 8th grades, respectively. Therefore, it is easy to see that there is
not a continuum in the study of civic education between primary and secondary schools, therefore the
principle of systematization and continuity in learning is also affected. Likewise, the theme “Children’s
Universal Rights” is studied only in the 4th grade. According to these findings after studying the
curricula of civic education / culture in force and analysing the document of educational policy entitled
“
Education Sciences (2015), publicly debated (in August-September 2015), which formed the basis of
the design proposals for secondary curriculum frameworks reached the following conclusions: -The need for training / development of pupils’ civic skills by ensuring the continuity of studying civic education / culture throughout the gymnasium; -The systematic study of the “new education” during all the years of secondary school within the new subject of
--The need to increase the share of the curriculum in school decisions (CDS);
-Facilitating the integrated development of the key skills through the introduction in the
framework plan of integrated optional subjects across multiple subject areas to familiarize
students with inter- and cross-curricular approaches; -Placing optionals in each curricular area and encouraging a diversified offer responding to a greater extent to the students’ needs and interests. The theoretical marks served as foundation in
the initiation and implementation of a needs analysis on the appropriateness of teacher training
(locally) in children’s rights.
2. Methodology
The purpose of the research was probing perceptions of teachers who teach civic education (28) in
urban areas (17) and rural areas (11) in Arges County on the appropriateness of introducing
this school subject, but also on the need for training / skills development of the staff in teaching
children’s rights in school. The research instruments: the analysis of the curricular documents and of
the educational policies documents and the questionnaire-based inquiry. The survey was conducted
from December 2015 to February 2016 and it started from the analysis of the three working versions,
the online debate framework on the modernization of the secondary school curriculum by introducing
the new educational subjects among which the
3. Results
When they were asked Q1- Do you consider it is necessary to study ”Education for children’s
rights” in secondary school?, most respondents (26) confirmed the need to study this subject in
secondary school on the following grounds:
=because children need to know and fight for their rights;
=because children should be trained as citizens from an early age knowing their rights and
obligations;
to be better informed about their rights and duties;
to no longer produce discrimination in order not to violate the children’s rights;
to solve problems that concern them by taking attitude and having the final word.
Only 7.14% of the respondents believe that this subject studied separately is not necessary in middle
school because: there is already a subject that deals with children’s rights (Civic Education in the 7th and the 8th grades) a revision of Civic Education: updating the curriculum (imbuing it with the children’s rights issues in the 7th and the 8th grades) and the teacher training in this area would be sufficient.
When they were asked Q2-Which would be the appropriate status of that subject in school?, most respondents (10) considered it should be a new optional subject, while six respondents believed that it could even be a compulsory subject in the core curriculum, and 2 respondents mentioned extra class activity of the civic circle type to debate issues related to children’s rights as a work variant.
When they were asked Q3-Who could teach this new school subject?, the respondents (28) showed more categories of specialists who could teach Education for children’s rights: teachers of history / civic culture, form teachers, master graduates in psychology / sociology / law / education sciences / social work, counsellors, school psychologists, any teacher who has completed training in this area.
Q4-What number of hours would be suitable for the study of this subject in secondary school?
(89.29% respondents considered 1 hour / week for the study of this subject was sufficient, while
10.71% think that it would require a budget for 2 hours / week). Although the question Q5- Are
children’s rights respected in your school? was answered affirmatively by all the respondents, yet
when they were asked Q6 -To what extent does the children’s opinion matter in your school?, three
respondents said “to a small extent” and most respondents (25) estimated that largely children’s
opinion is important in their school. Hence we infer that although declaratively, the surveyed teachers
believe that children’s rights are respected in school, however, a small percentage (7.14%) recognize
that student opinion matters slightly in their school, therefore children’s right to free opinion is
violated.
When they were asked Q7- How are the rights of children promoted in your school?, the
respondents mentioned the following pedagogical ways: children are involved in various cultural,
social activities, in “Şcoala altfel” program, by means of the representatives chosen by the advisory
board of the school / class in decisions that concern them, by means of the form classes, civic culture in
the context of extracurricular activities, by means of interactive communication workshops,
competitions, by means of inclusive education, by ensuring the right to free opinion, by choosing the
optionals. As far as the examples given by the respondents to the question Q8 – Which are the
occasions / activities in which children express their opinions freely? Give some examples! are
concerned, they indicated the following times / occasions:
-Choosing the optional subjects;
-=Developing classroom rules;
-=Debate on the Internal Regulations of the School;
-=Deciding upon the school uniform;
-=Establishing and developing “Şcoala altfel” activities, generally within extracurricular
activities;
-=Setting evaluation forms in some activities / subjects;
-=Self-assessment and peer assessment;
-=-During daily activities, any proposed action is discussed with the students in class;
-=Within the form classes;
-=-Within the class council and student council of the school.
When asked
71.43% of the respondents believed that students were aware of their rights to a small extent, while
28.57% of the respondents felt that students were informed and know their rights greatly. When they
were asked
respondents mentioned the following:
-=-The right to freedom of expression (including listening to the student’s opinion);
-=-The right to leisure and recreation (including breaks);
-=The right to creativity;
-=-The right to be represented in the Board of Directors of the school;
-=The right to integrity;
-=The right to be treated with respect and dignity;
-=The right not to be discriminated;
-=The right to be informed;
-=-The right to education (the study of certain school subjects).
When they were asked
respondents noted several methodological suggestions on teaching this subject in the near future: using
the modern facilitating technology of educational films / case studies, to teach this subject without
grading students, through open debates with the students based on theatre plays written by the students,
role playing, essays, poems, using active and interactive methods, through educational projects,
involving parents at times, making a specific manual created even by the students, through
volunteering, based on concrete examples.
-=A better understanding of the children and their rights by the teachers, parents, community
members;
-=Organizing more complex extra-class/ extra-school activities, such as round tables, debates
between students, teachers, parents;
-=Determination of homework;
-=-Great attention to freely expressed opinions, listening to children, to their needs;
-=-Placing the students in as many life situations that would empower them since childhood;
-=-Information campaigns for all the actors involved in children’s education;
-=-Adapting the curricula to the needs of each child according to age, residence environment etc.;
-=-By involving parents in the act of teaching Education for children’s rights.
Regarding the necessity of undergoing a continuous training program focused on children’s rights
(
and a percentage of 17.85 mentioned they
respondents were asked to consider a proposal for a curriculum centred on the issue of children’s rights
education (
statistical processing of the data revealed the following hierarchy of subjects in order of the importance
assigned by the respondents (Table no.1):
4. Discussion
The continuing education currricular project model focused on children’s rights and generated from
carrying out an analysis of the needs is an important dimension of this research and it is up-to-date
from a scientific point of view. This original curricular project underpins the launching and
implementation of a new continuing education program for teachers in Arges County that are interested
in children’s rights education in the Romanian schools. The research has led to the identification of
certain methodological issues concerning the future teaching of the subject
in schools.The participants in the study emphasize that the education for children’s rights proves its
effectiveness if supported by a school environment in which students are given the opportunity to
experience the values and the principles of the democratic process in action. The school culture and the
young people’s participation in decisions affecting them, the democratic atmosphere and practice in
school support their training in the spirit of the democratic values and principles. Beyond civic
knowledge,
ability to critically relate to them. Knowledge is important in the formation of civic skills, but it is more
important for the young people to take a stand, to fight for their goals, to know and to respect the laws,
to get involved in the community life they belong to.
if supported by an educational environment in which the students are given the opportunity to
experience the values and principles of the democratic process in action.
5. Conclusions
This study highlights the practical aspects of the training / development of students’ social and civic
skills by ensuring the continuity of the study of civic education from primary school during the
gymnasium and it also stresses the need for the training / development of teachers’ skills in the
teaching-learning-assessing process of teaching children’s rights in schools. Life school in relation to
the community life should become an environment of democracy and of full participation. The teacher-
student-parent dialogue still needs to be strengthened. The student council as an important forum in the
democratization of the school and of the teacher-student relationships represents that system through
which children can learn how to actively participate in the society, to think and implement the actions,
projects they consider necessary to improve the environment in which they live and learn.
-=-To educate students to know their rights and the responsibilities related to them;
-=To develop students’ critical thinking and training social and civic skills by encouraging and
practising democratic, participative behaviour; -To build skills of communication, cooperation and collaboration, teamwork, initiative and assuming responsibility, decision-making group; -To respect the others’ rights and to develop the competence to live with others in a multicultural democratic society;
-To learn and practise democratic behaviour based on educational situations and social-civic
projects, practicing them in the classroom, school and community as a prosocial workout, to
exercise democratic practices in the future; -To develop the ability to influence change through problem, conflict solving, achieving common objectives, influencing public decisions; -To create in schools a favourable context for the exercise by the students of their right to freedom of opinion and expression;
-=-To establish effective knowledge to solve the cases of violation of students’ rights in schools;
-=To train and develop specific skills and attitudes for the future adult life of the students in a
democratic society; -Cooperation between teachers and students to improve the work environment in schools and the relationships between students - teachers and students - students; -Development of students’ democratic participation in decisions that affect them as a permanent principle in the school practice and the integration of this moral trait in the personality profile.
In the educational activities referring to children’s rights, students must be involved in an active process of learning, i.e. they use their knowledge, they analyse situations, they approach and solve problems individually and in groups at school or in extra-school activities which include projects in the community. Based on civic knowledge and skills, students practise critical reporting to social values and norms, the entire teaching activity stimulating students to manifest civic attitudes. It is important for young people to take a stand, to speak, to fight for their goals, to know and respect the laws, to get involved in the community life they belong to in order to develop civic skills.
References
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Publication Date
04 October 2016
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Cite this article as:
Neacșu, M. G. (2016). Education for Children’s Rights - Prolegomena to a Modern School Curriculum. In A. Sandu, T. Ciulei, & A. Frunza (Eds.), Logos Universality Mentality Education Novelty, vol 15. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 652-659). Future Academy. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2016.09.82