Investigation of the Rights of Children in Primary Education through the Pedagogical Practices of the Teachers

Abstract

In this paper, which makes use of Basil Bernstein’s theoretical framework, the investigation of the rights of children as they are implemented through the pedagogical practices of primary school teachers in Greece is, first of all, sought. Then, secondly, the degree of differentiation in the practices, with regard to these particular rights, which are determined by the Convention on the Rights of the  Child which was adopted in 1989 by the United Nations, is also sought. For the realization of the research, in which primary school teachers participated, semi-structured interviews were used as our research tool. The main findings were the following: that for the promotion of the rights of the children which relate to leisure time and play, non-discriminatory treatment, the right to the free expression of opinion and participation as well as for priority to be given to the children’s best interests, visible pedagogical practices in the space of the classroom were implemented, with explicit instructional and regulative rules, by the teachers in the sample. A few teachers expressed a desire for a weakening of the framing aimed at an increase in the pupils’ participation in the educational process in specific low status subjects.