PROMOTING CHILD RIGHTS THROUGH SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS IN DIVERSIFIED SETTINGS

Abstract

In recent decades, Child's Rights have increasingly become the focus of international policy, international organizations, as well as educational institutions from pre-school to higher education. This is a result of a long process of defending the Rights of the Child under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989. Education plays a key role in the learning and enjoyment of the rights of the child through the progressive acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes, aimed at developing a democratic culture. The acquisition of rights, values and skills through education can also be developed through literature, as literature educates and introduces the reader to cultural understanding and perception of identity. Literature in Greek primary school is mainly taught through Anthologies. In this vein, the aim of this study is to investigate through the thematic analysis of the anthological texts of the primary school taught to students in Greece, whether there are explicit or implicit references related to Child's Rights in their content. Three thematic networks emerge from data analysis. The first thematic network concerns the right to protection - family care and alternative care, the second concerns the right to protection from deprivation of liberty by factors that threaten the security of their country and the third concerns the right to protection from discrimination based on distinctive characteristics of individuals. Overall, the data show that there are significant references to children’s rights and more specifically to that of protection. The discussion shows that the teaching of these texts should sensitize students to universal values and contemporary social problems. This will be achieved if the approach of appropriately trained teachers does not remain only at the level of knowledge but extends to the level of skills and attitudes.

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