Teacher perspectives on civic and human rights education

 Vol. 9(10), pp. 302-311, 23 May, 2014
DOI: 10.5897/ERR2013.1707
ISSN 1990-3839
Copyright © 2014
Author(s) retain the copyright of this article
http://www.academicjournals.org/ERR
Educational Research and Reviews
Full Length Research Paper
Teacher perspectives on civic and human rights
education
Kezban Kuran
Department of Elementary Education, Mustafa Kemal Universtiy, Hatay/ Turkey.
Downloaded 2 January, 2014; Accepted 15 April, 2014
This study aims to obtain teacher perspectives on the civic and human rights education course
included in the eighth grade curriculum in Turkish schools. The study group was selected with criterion
sampling from among teachers who were teaching the eighth grade civic and human rights education at
elementary schools in central Hatay. Using the qualitative research design, this study gathered its data
through semistructured interviews and analyzed it descriptively. Data reliability was .89. The results
showed that the objectives of the civic and human rights education course were well-understood by the
teachers and that it was perceived as an important course. It was also found that these objectives could
not be achieved, course content was not adequate, and the course was mostly conducted through
traditional methods such as question and answer. The majority of participants identified "not seeing
children as adolescents" as the most serious problem of the civic and human rights education course
and recommended “establishing a democratic environment at schools” as a solution.
Key words: Democracy, democracy education, citizenship, effective citizen, human rights.
INTRODUCTION
Democracy, citizenship and human rights are interrelated
and ever-present concepts that make human life easier
and better. Relationships between societies and cultural
interactions are increasing everyday in the information
age that we live in, making these concepts more and
more important. There is a meaningful and undisputed
relationship between democracy, citizenship and human
rights. An awareness of human rights and citizenship can
only be fostered in democratic environments.
Based on public sovereignty and self governance,
democracy is a type of political system and administration.
However, it would be misleading to view democracy
merely as a type of administration. It needs to be
considered in relation to the socioeconomic and cultural
dimensions that reflect a certain way of life and political
philosophy (Ertürk, 1981: 3). Democracy is not only a
form of government but a way of life. Regardless of its
various definitions, democracy is a freedom regime that
promises human rights. That is why democracy today is
often defined with its personal dimensions rather than
social (Touraine 1991:266). Democracy education firstly
requires self-awareness and then an awareness of
others. As individuals in democratic systems learn about
their personal rights and freedoms, they also realize the
extent to which the opinions of "the other" are valued in
the historical, economic, cultural and moral structure of
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Kuran
their society and understand the problems that arise due
to this (Çalık, 2002: 46).
The way to a democratic personality and possession of
democratic values is undoubtedly a well structured and
organized educational process. Education is therefore
one of the most important factors in the development and
strengthening of democracy. An education system can
fulfill its function of establishing a democratic society by
fostering individuals with democratic values and making
democracy the dominant culture. Democratic life habits
can only be fostered within a democratic education
system (Gürşimşek and Göregenli, 2004: 78). A democratic society requires democratic individuals and these
individuals can only flourish in a society with democratic
values (Gözütok, 1998: 56). In truly democratic countries,
the state is responsible for introducing and teaching
human rights and basic freedoms to citizens because
those who do not know the scope and dimensions of
these cannot exercise their rights.
The right to know human rights can only be insured
through democracy education (Gözütok, 1998: 57). One
of the basic aims of democracy education is to foster
respect for individual differences. At the heart of the
thought that human rights and freedoms must be valued
lies a democratic and humanistic worldview. The idea for
a democratic society was born out of individual human
differences and needs. Democracy accepts that individuals are autonomous, responsible for self-governance,
and able to choices and decisions for themselves. This
approach considers each individual as valuable and
unique, and endorses personal development (Yeşilyaprak,
2000: 13). Then, the main goal of democracy education
should be to foster individuals with a humanistic attitude
and respect for other humans. The democratic lifestyle in
modern societies requires individuals in line with this
lifestyle because democracy can only be realized through
individuals that understand and adopt it (Demirtaş, 2008:
3). Democracy education in Turkey started with the establishment of the republic. In this era, a secular, innovative,
and national understanding of education was adopted,
and this was made official on 3 March, 1924 with the
Tevhid-i Tedrisat law. The emphasis here was on educating freethinking, productive, questioning, scientific and
democratic citizens required by the new democratic
regime (Atasoy, 1997).
Individuals who are aware of their civic rights and
responsibilities help the development of a democratic
attitude within the society. Karip (2006:321) states that
civic education is based on the teaching of basic knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that are synonymous
with being a citizen of a given country and are part of its
compulsory education. Civic education is a process
through which individuals are taught their position in the
society and its basic values. Westheimer and Kahne
(2004) state that a democratic society has three types of
citizens: Socially responsible (knows and fulfills social
responsibilities), participating (becomes involved in social
303
life activities on a national and regional level) and justiceoriented (makes meaning of and analyzes the interaction
between social, economic and political power). All
democratic societies strive for citizens that harbor all
three of these characteristics.
Humans must think and know in order to live, but
merely knowing is not enough because they must also
understand the purposes of knowing and also experience
welfare, happiness and freedom (Değirmencioğlu, 1997:
26). Therefore, modern countries value the teaching of
democratic behaviors in their schools. As social beings,
humans are educated to comply with social rules, values
and norms, but at the same time to make necessary
adjustments in these when this is necessary for social
change. Education is the medium through which individuals learn how the state – citizen relationship needs to
occur. Democracy and civic knowledge also brings
knowing and defending human rights. In European countries there are several educational programs, initiatives
and projects that offer students practical civic experiences during school. Successful civic education requires
a participatory school culture based on democratic
principles and offering students opportunities to become
involved in the decisions that affect them. School culture
refers to the system of attitudes, values, norms, beliefs,
daily practices, principles, rules, and institutional regulations developed within the school. National curriculum
and/or educational regulations support the adoption of
democratic attitudes and values by the entire school
(Eurydice, 2013).
Civic understanding is closely related to public sovereignty. So is democracy to citizenship (Akbaşlı, 2009:
48). The citizen that democracy calls for is one that is
aware of his rights, respects those of others, believes in
civic duties, fulfills social and moral responsibilities, and
is in solidarity with others. In addition, he can think
critically, respects others, displays tolerance, and believes
in such values, attitudes and behaviors as national
identity and belonging. It is a major goal of education to
raise students as democratic and effective citizens. In this
respect, schools are a universe for students where they
learn how to become active and responsible citizens
through their daily experiences (Eurydice, 2005).
Human rights are not an abstract, theoretical or philosophical concept; they are the birthright of all humans
regardless of gender, age or other differences
(Kepenekçi, 2000:113). They refer to untouchable and
indispensable rights that all humans are entitled to
regardless of religious, linguistic, racial, social, cultural
and economic differences (Donnelley, 1995; Kocaoğlu,
1997; Duman et al., 2010). Among these are the right to
education, health, personal untouchability, living in a
healthy environment, petition writing, privacy of personal
life, accommodation and the vote. It is only possible to
exercise these rights if human rights education is a part
of social and political education (Cunningham, 1991: 102).
Human rights are based on the rights freedoms, duties
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Educ. Res. Rev.
and responsibilities brought by the concept of citizenship.
It is perhaps the most important goal of education to
foster individuals who know and use these rights and
responsibilities effectively. It is the belief of many
educators that democracy, citizenship and human rights
concepts are multidimensional and interdisciplinary, and
therefore they should be taught in relation to multiple
courses (Magendzo, 1994; Tibbitts, 2002; Paykoç, 2005:
56; Eurydice, 2005).
Civic education was launched in Turkey with the
ministry of education's board of education decree dated
01.08.1995 and numbered 289 to include a course
entitled civic and human rights education to 8th grade
curriculum as of the 1995 to 1996 school year (MEB
1995: 188). Starting from the 1997 to 1998 school year,
the course was included in both 7th and 8th grade
curricula as a one-hour class every week. The aims of
the civic and human rights curriculum include:
1. To contribute to a democratic and fair society as
independent, free, tolerant, peace-promoting and self
confident individuals.
2. To internalize the importance of preserving and enhancing common values
3. To fulfill civic responsibilities as citizens of Turkish
Republic.
The civic and human rights curriculum has four themes:
humans as precious beings, a culture of democracy,
rights and freedoms, duties and responsibilities. Teaching
activities are designed around these four themes to meet
the aims of the curriculum. There are plans to rename the
course human rights, citizenship and democracy and to
move it from the 8th to the 4th grade curriculum as a
compulsory two-hour weekly course as of the 2014 to
2015 school year.
The basic mission of social studies education is to
endow students with the knowledge, skills and values
that will turn them into effective citizens (NCSS, 2012).
This course must teach students that they are citizens of
the world. In this way, they can learn to see the world
through multiple perspectives and compare different
points of view (Merryfield and Subedi, 2001). Even
though the overall goal of education is to foster good
citizens, within most school curricula this huge task falls
only onto the shoulders of the social studies course
(Doğanay, 2002: 17). Osler and Starkey (2005: 9-24)
state that citizenship does not stop at the borders of a
country. Gradually globalizing, the world requires education of global citizens who has free and equal rights.
That is why it is important for the social studies course to
teach the importance of national and universal values for
effective citizens.
Elementary education aims to equip children with
certain knowledge, skills and attitudes so that they can
become effective humans and citizens (Yeşil, 2002).
Civic and human rights are among the most popular
topics in the country and around the globe. Naturally it is
beyond the scope of this study to evaluate whether civic
and human rights are internalized in the country. However, democracy, human rights and civic understanding
are processes that can be fostered through education.
Today, civic education in most countries takes place in
the social studies course, and aims to raise sensitive
individuals with national and universal values, rather than
people who only lie for their own nation (Kan, 2009: 2530). In other words, civic and human rights education
today encompasses world citizenship. Individuals are no
longer only expected to be good citizens in their own
countries, but effective world citizens as well. They need
to be sensitized to global events such as famine,
economic recession, earthquakes, wars and terrorism,
and be able to view these events independently and
critically, thus requiring a global civic education approach.
This shows the importance of the civic and human
rights education course, and the need to know the perspectives of teachers on this course. Naturally, teachers'
know-ledge, views and philosophies will affect their
perspec-tives on the course as well as their classroom
imple-mentations. Teachers’ understanding the meaning
of a democratic society is the first step towards teaching
democratic values and behaviors (Ravitch, 1991). Then,
democratic education is only possible with teachers who
believe in democracy as a lifestyle, thus the importance
of their views on the civic and human rights course.
Literature review
The studies in the literature can mostly be grouped into
three. The first group covers studies evaluating the
dimensions of the civic and human rights education
course curriculum (objectives, behaviors and methods)
and investigating course books in the area (Gözütok,
1998; Kenez, 1993; Toraman, 2012; Yiğittir, 2003;
Uyangör, 2007; Elkatmış, 2012; Türker, 1999; Üstündağ,
1995; Yeşil, 2004).
The second one covers studies on the effectiveness of
civic and human rights education, teacher and school
principals' views about democracy and democracy
education, teacher needs regarding civic education, the
mission of the course civic and human rights, and the
problems faced in its implementation (Karaman and
Kepenekçi, 2005; Yağan, 2010; Ersoy, 2007; Torun,
2009). The third group includes teacher studies on democracy education and school parliaments (Doğan, 2008;
Uyanık, 2009; Özdemir, 2009; Genç and Güner, 2012).
The aim of the present study is to obtain teacher views
about the 8th grade course civic and human rights
education, which has a role in the fostering of “effective
human beings” and “effective citizens”.
The study conducted by Başaran (2007) at Trakya
university about “the views of social studies teachers on
the implementation of the elementary civic and human
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rights education curriculum” is similar to this study with its
content and qualitative nature. However, the purpose of
Başaran's study was to “evaluate the elementary civic
and human rights education curriculum based on teacher
views and offer practical recommendations”. Başaran's
study is therefore one on curriculum evaluation. Different
from others in the literature, the present study aims to
obtain teacher views on the civic and human rights
education course and identify how it is perceived by
teachers. In order to enable teachers to freely express
their opinions without limitations, the study used the
qualitative research design.
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to obtain teacher views on
the 8th grade civic and human rights education course.
Within the scope of this overall purpose, the following
research questions were formed:
1- How do teachers of the Civic and Human Rights
course conceptualize civic and human rights?
2-To what extent do teachers think that the objectives of
the Civic and Human Rights Education course are met?
3- What are the teachers' views on the contents of the
Civic and Human Rights Education course?
4-What do teachers think about the implementation of the
Civic and Human Rights Education course?
5- What are the problems and proposed solutions for the
Civic and Human Rights Education course that the
teachers could identify?
METHODOLOGY
This qualitative study collected its data through semi-structured
interviews. Brannigan (1985: 196 to 205) writes that this type of
interview aims to find the parallelisms and differences between the
data obtained from the interviewees and make comparisons. Semistructured items were used so interviewees could express
themselves comfortably. The items were formed in five themes
reflecting the main purpose of the study in order to reveal how
teachers viewed the meaning of the course, whether objectives
were being met, what they thought about the course content, how
they taught the course, what problems they faced as they taught it,
and what recommendations they had to tackle them. The items
were finalized after obtaining the views of two experts in the field.
The participants were formed by using the purposive method of
“criterion sampling”. The basic approach here is to study all
conditions meeting a set of prespecified criteria. These criteria may
be created by the researcher or a list of existing criteria may be
used (Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2011: 112). As a result, the sample
included the teachers teaching the 8th grade civic and human rights
education course at elementary schools in the center of Hatay
province of Turkey. However, 12 of these 43 teachers did not want
to participate and the study was conducted with 31 teachers who
volunteered to take place. Of these teachers, 25 had been
educated as social studies teachers, four as history teachers, and
two as geography teachers. They were 21 males and 9 females.
While five teachers had 25 and more years of work experience, 17
had between 15 to 24 years, five between 10 to14 years, and four
305
between 5 to13 years. In sum, the majority (81%) were social
studies teachers, more than half (67%) were female, and (55%) had
over 15 years of work experience.
All 31 participants were contacted separately to inform them
about the study. The date and place of interviews were decided
according to their wishes. The interviews were made in an informal
setting. Responses were recorded with the consent of the teachers
without mentioning their names. During the interview, follow up
questions were asked as needed in order to get in-depth data. After
collecting data, the recordings were transcribed and written into
indices. After data classification, a thematic framework was drawn
for descriptive analysis. In order to ensure reliability of data
analysis, another field expert as a second coder was also given the
data along with the coding key and asked to code the responses.
Agreement between the coders was calculated by using the Miles
and Huberman formula (1994) agreement / disagreement +
agreement)*100. The resulting reliability level was 89%. As it
surpassed 80%, the study was concluded as reliable. When the
results were presented, certain teacher views were quoted using
code such as Teacher 1 (T1), Teacher 2 (T2).
RESULTS
The data were gathered under five themes in line with the
aim of the study. The results are presented in tables and
explained in accordance with the research questions.
Interpretation of the results are made in discussion
section.
Findings about the conceptualization of the civic and
human rights education
The participants were asked what the course civic and
human rights education meant for them, and the responses are given in Table 1 in subthemes.
Table 1 shows that all 31 teachers viewed the civic and
human rights education course as one that “teaches the
requirements of a democratic life and informs about
human rights (demanding rights, respect for difference of
opinion and belief, freedom of thought and expression,
the right to vote, etc.). In addition, 29 of the 31 teachers
also perceived the course as one that teaches civic rights
and responsibilities (establishing civic awareness, health,
following legal rules, constitution, paying taxes,
education, etc.). Further, 26 participants stated that they
viewed it as a course that improves character development, samples all aspects of the democratic lifestyle, and
teaches that everyone has equal rights. Some teacher
views were as follows.
- If taught properly, this course teaches how to be a good
citizen (T.1).
- It teaches students to look out for their rights (T2).
- It aims to teach conscious citizens how to demand your
rights legally when they are breached (T.3).
- I really value this course as it teaches the requirements
of democratic life (T4).
- I see it as a course that serves to train children as
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Educ. Res. Rev.
Table 1. Distribution of the theme "views on the civic and human rights education" into subthemes
Themes
Views on the Civic and Human
Rights Education course
Subthemes
Number
*A course that teaches the requirements of a democratic
life and informs about human rights
*A course that teaches civic rights and responsibilities
*A course that teaches everyone has equal rights,
prepares students for life and contributes to personal
development
31
29
26
Table2. Distribution of the theme "objectives of the the civic and human rights education Course" into
subthemes
Theme
Subthemes
Achievement level of the objectives of the
Civic and Human Rights education course
*Objectives are not met.
*Objectives are partially met.
*Objectives are met.
Number
23
6
2
Table3. Distribution of the theme "reasons for failing to meet the objectives of the civic and human rights education course"
into subthemes
Theme
Reasons for Failing to Meet the
Objectives of the Civic and Human
Rights Education course
Subthemes
Number
*Lack of a democratic environment at schools and classrooms
*The theoretical nature of the course
*Negative events and news in visual and print media
*Parent attitudes
democratically conscious citizens who know how to
demand their rights in line with democracy (T.5).
Findings on the objectives of the civic and human
rights education Course
The views of participants about the achievement level of
the civic and human rights course objectives can be seen
in subthemes in Table 2.
Table 2 reveals that while two participants stated that
course objectives were met, six stated that they were
partially met, and 23 stated that they were not met.
Considering the latter two together, it may be stated that
the majority (29) agreed that the objectives of the civic
and human rights education COURSE were not met.
Teacher views on the underlying reasons for that are
given in Table 3 in subthemes.
Table 3 displays that 20 participants believed that the
reason for failing to meet course objectives was “lack of
20
20
17
12
a civic and human rights environment at schools and
classrooms”, 20 believed that it was “the theoretical
nature of the course”, 17 believed that it was the
"negative events and news in print and visual media”, and
12 believed that it was “parent attitudes”.
Below are some sample views from teachers why
objectives of the course civic and human rights education
could not be met.
- The course content is theoretical. We cannot teach
practical real-life topics (T2).
- Newspapers and TV show so many bad examples
about democracy and human rights that children believe
these rather than what they are taught at school (T3).
- Schools lack a democratic environment to set an
example (T:6).
- Parent attitudes conflict with the information taught
through this course (T7).
- Neither families nor schools are able to teach children
humanistic values and their responsibilities to others as
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Table 4. Distribution of the theme "contents of the civic and human rights education course" into subthemes
Theme
Opinions on course content
Subthemes
Number
*Contents are inadequate
*Contents are partially adequate
*Contents are fully adequate
21
6
4
Table 5. Distribution of the theme "reasons why contents of the civic and human rights education course are inadequate" into
subthemes
Theme
Reasons why contents of the Civic and
Human Rights Education course are
inadequate
Subthemes
Number
*Contradiction between course content and real-life events
*Theoretical course contents
*Lack of up-to-date and concrete examples
attitudes (T.8).
- Non-democratic teacher and parent attitudes contradict
with those taught in class. Therefore, classroom learning
cannot be seen in real behaviors. Children become
irritable and disrespectful (T10).
Findings on the contents of the civic and human
rights education course
The views of teachers on the contents of the civic and
human rights education course are shown in Table 4 in
subthemes.
A total of 21 participants viewed the contents of the
civic and human rights education course as inadequate. If
we add the 6 who thought the contents to be partially
adequate, 27 participants were not satisfied with the
contents of the civic and human rights education course.
The reasons behind this are given in Table 5.
As shown in Table 5, 27 participants blamed the
inadequacy of course contents on “the contradiction
between course contents and real-life events”, while 20
blamed it on the “theoretical course content”. Similarly, 15
participants stated that “lack of up-to-date and concrete
examples” is the reason. Some of the opinions about why
the contents of civic and human rights education course
we thought to be inadequate are given below.
- As the Civic and Human Rights Education course
involves theoretical information, students cannot acquire
real life behaviors (T.9).
- The information needs updating and more practicality
(T12).
- We have difficulty making the topics more concrete.
Therefore, students merely memorize with no meaningful
learning (T.16).
27
20
15
- The information in the course does not translate to real
life (T7).
- In fact, all teachers should primarily focus on democracy
and civic education (T.19).
Findings on the implementation of the course civic
and human rights education
The views of the participants on the “implementation of
the course civic and human rights education are given
below in Table 6.
According to Table 6, 20 participants stated that they
used "lecturing and question-answer methods" as they
taught the course civic and human rights education,
seven used “repetition and memorization”, while four
assigned the topics as homework. Some views about the
implementation of the course are given below.
- I teach the topic but ask students to prepare at home.
As - I teach, I ask questions and elicit opinions (T.23).
- As the topics are mostly abstract, I prefer to explain the
topics myself (T8).
- I give home assignments about the topics and
makestudents explain them. Then I give a summary and
complete any missing parts (T.18).
- As I teach, I keep asking about previous topics to help
them retain their knowledge (T.5).
Findings on the problems and solutions that teacher
identified in the course civic and human rights
education
The participants were asked about the “problems they
faced as they taught the course civic and human rights
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Educ. Res. Rev.
Table 6. Distribution of the theme "implementation of the civic and human rights education course" into
subthemes
Theme
Subthemes
*Lecturing and question-answer
Implementation of the course Civic and *Repetition and memorization
Human Rights education
*Assigning topics as homework
Number
20
7
4
Table 7. Distribution of the theme "problems faced in the civic and human rights education course" into subthemes
Theme
Subthemes
Main problems in the Civic and Human Rights
Education course
*Not viewing children as adolescents
*Principals and teachers not setting good role
models
*Inadequate class hours
*Overcrowded classes
*Lack of a democractic family environment
Number
25
18
9
7
7
Table 8. Distribution of the theme "solutions to the problems faced in the the civic and human rights education course "
into subthemes
Theme
Solutions proposed for the
problems in the the Civic
and Human Rights
Education course
Subthemes
*A democratic environment should be established at schools.
*A teacher's handbook should be prepared to implement the course
*TV should create more room for programs on democracy, civic
knowledge and human rights.
*Cooperation should be established with NGOs.
*Seminars and visits should be offered to families.
*The course should be taught by field experts.
Education” and their solutions to these. The problems are
shown in Table 7. Table 7 indicates that most participants
(25 teachers) perceived “not seeing students as adolescents” as a major problem. On the other hand, 18
mentioned “the failure of principals and teachers in
becoming role models”, and 9 mentioned “inadequate
class hours”.
Seven participants mentioned “overcrowded classes”
and “lack of a democratic family environment” as the
reason. Below are some of the opinions on the problems
experienced in the course.
- Student rights are not honored (T2).
- When children are treated democratically, they conceive
this as a concession and become more disrespectful.
This is because their families don't teach them these
concepts (T.6).
- Class sizes are so big that we feel forced to use
Number
27
25
18
15
10
6
restrictions to maintain authority (T.10).
- Children develop a negative perception of Civic and
Human Rights Education when they come across
teachers who use violence and set a bad example (T.3).
- The contradiction between the organizational culture of
schools and the contents of the Civic and Human Rights
Education Course creates a dilemma for children (T.8).
- Most families are not democratic (T11).
The solutions proposed by participants for the problems
faced in the civic and human rights education course are
given in subthemes in Table 8. Of the participants, 27
proposed “the establishment of a democratic environment
at schools" and 25 proposed “a teacher's handbook on
course implementation”. This was followed by the proposal of 18 participants that “TV should show more
programs on democracy, civic knowledge and human
rights”. Fifteen participants proposed that “cooperation
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should be established with non governmental organization
(NGOs)”, 10 proposed that “families should be offered
informative seminars and visits”, while 6 proposed that
“the course be taught by field experts”.
CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION
The results of the study indicated that the civic and
human rights education course is viewed as one that
informs students about civic rights and duties. Teacher
responses suggested that course objectives had been
perceived accurately and the course is valued. However,
there seems to be a serious contradiction between their
opinions on course objectives and their own actions
towards this study. This causes doubts about how
teachers can establish a democratic environment for their
students when they themselves worry about democracy
at their schools.
Most participants also stated that the objectives of the
civic and human rights education course were not met
and its contents were not adequate. This view resembles
the finding of Koca (1998) that “teachers believed that the
written objectives of the civic and human rights education
curriculum could not be fully met with the existing
content”. Gözütok (1998), Türker (1999) and Güdücü
(2008) also obtained similar results in their respective
studies.
Teachers stated that they mostly preferred classical
methods of implementations such as lecturing and
question-answer. This finding corroborates earlier
findings that teachers who teach social studies, a course
which includes the teaching of the civic and human rights
education, use lecturing and question-answer (Kalaycı,
2001; Yılmaz, 2002; Başaran, 2007; Kan, 2009). Naturally, if the course is taught through traditional methods,
their objectives could not be met. The teacher-centered
methods and techniques used in this course may also
have caused this. Indeed, Table 2 shows that 23
participants agreed that course objectives could not be
met. Assigning topics as homework or merely repeating
them will not be enough to teach the attitudes and
behaviors aimed by the course. As is the case for other
courses, the civic and human rights education may also
benefit from using learning by doing and active learning.
Indeed, it is argued that the topics of the the civic and
human rights education course should be taught through
effective learning methods and techniques that promote
real-life critical thinking, discussion and problem-solving
(Chapman et al., 1997: 366).
The view that the contents of the the civic and human
rights education course are not adequate due to its
theoretical and abstract nature is supported by Karaman
and Kepenekçi’s (2005) study on the effectiveness of the
civic and human rights education course in Turkish
elementary schools. Practice is the best, if not the only,
way of teaching democratic ideals such as tolerance,
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responsibility, solidarity, rights, agreement and participation. Lister (1982:11) states that these attitudes and
behaviors must first be displayed by teachers and then
practiced together with students. Similarly, he states that
democracy can be taught within the school culture and
with self-learning (Tibbits, 1994:364). It is of utmost
importance that teachers and principals create a school
culture that is in line with their attitudes and behaviors
concerning democracy and human rights.
The majority of teachers pinpointed "not viewing
students as adolescents' as the most serious problem in
the civic and human rights education course. Teachers
view students as children who are not ready to understand civic and human rights rather than seeing those
students as young citizens. It would be unfair and wrong
to expect these children to develop attitudes regarding
democracy, and civic and human rights. As a result of
this, today's generations have difficulty deciding what is
right or wrong, and what is good or bad (Yel and Aladağ,
2009: 124-125). At the heart of human rights lies the idea
that all humans have equal moral value regardless of
their differences. In other words, the source of human
rights is the equal moral nature of all humans (Drucer
1994: 19). Human rights are basically about independence; they denote the freedom of individuals to act in
accordance with their own judgments and aims (Erdoğan,
2001: 134).
The first and foremost solution proposed to the
problems in the civic and human rights education course
was “establishing a democratic environment at schools”.
According to Gömleksiz (1988:17 to 29), class environment is the main factor that affects student involvement in
school activities and the organizational structure of the
school is the main factor that affects students' political
attitudes. The presence of a democratic class environment not only maximizes student achievement but also
helps students develop democratic attitudes and behaviors. Democracy can only be learned through practice in
a democratic environment. If teachers at all stages of
education can display tolerant, respectful, unbiased,
open, guiding, helpful and consistent democratic behaviors towards their students, this will undoubtedly be
more effective than any democracy lesson. Therefore,
democratic attitudes and practices of teachers and school
principals will contribute significantly to creating
democratic attitudes and behaviors among children.
The suggestion that a teacher's handbook shuold be
prepared to guide teachers in the civic and human rights
education course shows that there are problems with the
implementation of the course. Indeed, Tables 3 and 5
also show that the majority of participants believed that
course objectives could not be met due to the theoretical
and abstract nature of the course and its contents were
inadequate.
The majority of participants (18) advocated the view
that TV should broadcast more programs on democracy,
civic knowledge and human rights. Indeed, violent
310
Educ. Res. Rev.
programs on TV where strong people with bad motives
win over weaker but better ones, films and shows that
overlook human rights set a bad example for children.
Programs that set good examples for students regarding
the civic and human rights education may help raise
youngsters with democratic attitudes who know their
rights and respect those of others. Based on the findings
of the study, the following recommendations may be
made:
- The civic and human rights education course needs to
be taught by persons with adequate information and skills
in this field. To this end, it may be useful to organize
seminars and in-service training programs for teachers
who come from other majors. This would enable teachers
to become role models for students.
Successful civic education requires a participatory school
culture.
- Teacher's handbooks may be written to guide teachers
in implementing the civic and human rights education
course more functionally and in line with its objectives.
Print and visual media may broadcast programs to help
children develop an awareness of democracy, human
rights, and civic rights and responsibilities.
- Families may be informed on the civic and human rights
education. Home visits may be made to explain that a
democratic attitude in family-child relationships may help
child development.
- If the topics of the the civic and human rights education
course course are taught cyclically in grades 5, 6 and 7,
more permanent knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and
values may be engendered in students.
In order to foster democratic attitudes and behaviors in
children, future studies may be more comprehensive, and
they may focus on the Civic and Human Rights Education
curriculum and how to teach the course better.
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