An investigation of the attitudes of infant and Primary School teachers regarding their pupils’ participation rights

Abstract

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) separates the rights of the child into categories (the rights to survive and development, protection and participation). However, participation rights have been overshadowed to a large degree by the other categories of rights of the child since they were not included in previous international treaties. The children’s participation rights include particular articles which aim to strengthen active participation, freedom of expression of opinion as the child seeks, receives and imparts views and ideas, the right to a private life, the freedom of conscience, thought and religion, the rights to a cultural life, and to a name, and nationality. Gradually, in the 1990s, the child becomes a political and social entity and can take part in social, political and school machinations, and even decision making process, especially on issues that concern her directly. This article presents a small-scale quantitative survey review which examines the points of view and practices of 101 infant and primary school teachers in the regions of Egio and Patras in Greece. The results lead us to the conclusion that the participants displayed positive views and practices which promoted the children’s participation rights. As a consequence of the aforementioned, we conclude that the participants in the research had positive attitudes towards their pupils’ participation rights and believed that the curricula reinforce their political rights within the space of the school. In addition, proposals for further investigation of the topic by future researchers are presented.