Building Opportunities for Children to Exercise their Rights at School

Abstract

There is inconsistency in the relationship children have with regards to their rights in the school setting. Few teachers know about these rights, families don't utilize them, and children are ignorant of them. Having said this, one of the most substantial social justice problems in schools is talking about rights without creating any opportunities. If one wants to work towards bettering social justice within the context of school-aged children, it isn't enough to simply discuss these rights, but rather, actually foster a setting in which student participation is encouraged. In this paper, I outline the factors that pertain to student participation, the opportunities they need for development, and, therefore, what it takes to promote student rights in the school setting. The research specifically looks at three groups of 25-30 students between the ages of 10 and 12 that attend marginalized schools in Mexico. In looking at the researched activities in which children had the opportunity to exercise their rights, these children were seen to participate in ways that were socially beneficial; they were aware of and watched out for the younger children, which can be interpreted as promoting social justice. It is interesting to note that, children are the ones that look down upon the points of view of other children, and that the way the children behave can be distracting. Nonetheless, student participation reclaims a new phase within the school as an organization.

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Author Information
Denys Serrano Arenas, Autonomous University Chapingo, Mexico
Evaristo Arcos Miranda, Autonomous University Chapingo, Mexico

• Category: ACEID2016, Oral Presentation, Paper Available
• Tag: Education: social justice and social change,

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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