Children human rights and empowerment: implementation of Articles 12 and 13 of the CRC in the international school
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Abstract
This thesis explores the implementation and practice of the child participation in international schools. The main two research questions are: What is the level of the child participation in international schools?; and How do international schools align their policies and curricula to children's right to participation as implied in the Articles 12 and 13 of the CRC? Research was built on literature review and theoretical framework in regard to children rights, empowerment and child participation. Among the main contributors are Lundy and her model for appropriate implementation of Article 12, problem-posing concept of Freire, child-centred approach of Ely-Yamin as well as Hart`s ladder of the participation. The research was conducted with the usage of qualitative research methods. I conducted semi-structured interviews with three teachers from international schools in Norway. Moreover, I analysed some documents and curriculum. The results received from both interviews and document analysis showed that the level of child participation in international schools is at a low level. Schools try to align their policies and curriculum as implied in Articles 12 and 13 of the CRC through the implementation of the student-centred approach, greater emphasis on the critical thinking rather than on simple memorizing information, empowerment of children, creation of a safe place/environment by limiting bullying in the school so that children can express their views freely. But interviews with teachers revealed significant problems with practical implementation of Articles 12 and 13. The study gives some suggestions and recommendations to improve the child participation level in international schools.