Democratic environments offered to children at school, in the family, and in society: the case of Turkey

Abstract

This research aims to investigate democratic environments offered to children in Turkey at school, in the home, and in society. A mixed method is a general type of research where qualitative and quantitative methods are used together. The researcher first collects quantitative and then the qualitative data. The study group in the research consisted of children in Kirsehir, a small city near the capital Ankara, in central Turkey. Democratic Environments scale and interview forms were used in the research. To analyze the obtained data, arithmetic averages, standard deviations, and percentages were calculated and multivariate analyses of variance conducted. The data obtained during interviews were analyzed through content analysis. Results show that even though Turkey accepts the Convention on the Rights of the Child, some problems remain associated with the democratic environment offered to children at school, at home, and in society.