Child rights education in Serbian schools

Abstract

In this article we report on a study in which we examined the opinions and attitudes of teachers and learners on child rights education in Serbian schools. The participants included teachers and learners of primary schools from 7 municipalities in Serbia. The results show that teachers and learners held similar views on certain issues about child rights in school. Teachers held a positive attitude toward child rights education and recognised the importance of school in this process. They assessed their competency as insufficient, believing that child rights education was not sufficiently realised in schools, and supported training programmes in this area. The results also show teachers’ views and suggestions for different areas of improvement. Learners, on the other hand, regarded teachers as the most responsible factor in child rights education, and their homeroom teachers as the greatest support in the protection of their rights. This study points to the need for a systematic approach to the implementation of child rights education in schools.