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The case study documented in this dissertation emerged in response to the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, and it promoted the participation rights accorded all children in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. A unifying theme of this research was listening to the children's voices during their participation in a Primary-level curriculum for children's rights education entitled The World Around Us. This research was conducted within one Grade 3 classroom of nineteen students over a three-month period, when qualitative data were systematically collected via interviews, narratives, and observations. The purpose of this qualitative research was to explore how curricular experiences influenced the child participants' emerging conceptions of their participation rights and responsibilities, with a view to benefiting future curriculum materials for children's rights education. This research led to identifying learning and teaching strategies, which promoted the children's emerging conceptions, in light of the research goal of informing educational practice. In addition, this research led to devising a framework of participatory indicators, which reflected the child participants' emerging conceptions of their participation rights and responsibilities, in light of the research goal of building educational theory. / Graduate

In Christian Education South Africa v Minister of Education, the Constitutional Court upheld the law that prohibited the use of corporal punishment in schools. The decision was primarily premised on protecting children against all forms of violence from a public source. Recently, the same Court in Freedom of Religion South Africa v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others has abolished the defence of reasonable chastisement that was available at common law to parents when administering corporal punishment to discipline recalcitrant children. The effect of the decision is that parents no longer have a defence if they are charged with Assault as a result of Corporal Punishment. The decision has far-reaching consequences as; on the one hand, it unfairly curtails parents’ rights of discipline against their children and seeks to dictate to parents on how to discipline their children. On the other hand, the decision places the rights of children as being of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child. The study employs the doctrinal method which is “desktop-based”, and uses primary and secondary sources, such as case law, statutes, articles and books. The findings of this study are that the defence of reasonable chastisement infringes on the rights of children afforded to them by both the Constitutional law and international instrument. Outlawing Corporal Punishment serves as a great step towards fighting the battle of domestic violence. The Constitutional Court Judgment is not the end of it all; parents must be taught of other alternative way to disciples children. It is of crux to note that discipline is the essential part of parenting and it will be detrimental to raise children without discipline. / Mini Dissertation(LLM (Child Law))--University of Pretoria 2020. / Centre for Child Law / LLM (Child Law) / Unrestricted

The global approach that pleads for the equality of all human beings and respect for human rights reaches children as well. Universal human rights should be awarded to all people and for all institutions, and, therefore, schools and children are no exception. Children's rights form an integral part of human rights. This study sets out to explore a management model to assist teachers in implementing children's rights. The study argues that schools are expected to be places of support and respect for children's rights. Instead, extreme violations take place in some schools. This occurs in spite of the children's rights laws that are in place. Most of the human rights transgressions are committed by teachers. The study offers a new approach for teachers to respect and promote children's rights in schools. The new approach is in the form of a model. A literature study and empirical research were undertaken, including national and international factors influencing children's rights. A number of serious gross violations were also explored. Qualitative focus groups and in-depth interviews formed the basis of the empirical research. Finally, a content analysis was conducted to categorise and evaluate data. The findings revealed that teachers still use corporal punishment, even if it is totally outlawed. Other violations discovered included the following: verbal abuse, sexual relationships with girl learners, failure by teachers to attend classes and failure to treat all learners equally. Recommendations in this study emphasise the need to train student teachers regarding human rights education. An induction programme for newly appointed teachers is viewed as ideal. Workshops are also recommended for both the teachers and Teacher Liaison Officers (TLO’s). The study finally identified areas in which further research should be done. / Thesis (PhD (Education Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The global approach that pleads for the equality of all human beings and respect for human rights reaches children as well. Universal human rights should be awarded to all people and for all institutions, and, therefore, schools and children are no exception. Children's rights form an integral part of human rights. This study sets out to explore a management model to assist teachers in implementing children's rights. The study argues that schools are expected to be places of support and respect for children's rights. Instead, extreme violations take place in some schools. This occurs in spite of the children's rights laws that are in place. Most of the human rights transgressions are committed by teachers. The study offers a new approach for teachers to respect and promote children's rights in schools. The new approach is in the form of a model. A literature study and empirical research were undertaken, including national and international factors influencing children's rights. A number of serious gross violations were also explored. Qualitative focus groups and in-depth interviews formed the basis of the empirical research. Finally, a content analysis was conducted to categorise and evaluate data. The findings revealed that teachers still use corporal punishment, even if it is totally outlawed. Other violations discovered included the following: verbal abuse, sexual relationships with girl learners, failure by teachers to attend classes and failure to treat all learners equally. Recommendations in this study emphasise the need to train student teachers regarding human rights education. An induction programme for newly appointed teachers is viewed as ideal. Workshops are also recommended for both the teachers and Teacher Liaison Officers (TLO’s). The study finally identified areas in which further research should be done. / Thesis (PhD (Education Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of South Africa, Pretoria, 2001.

My dissertation examines the rights of children in the context of liberal conceptions of justice. The theoretical aspects of the dissertation concern liberal paternalism, autonomy, and the adequacy of Rawls's argument for the lexical priority of liberty. I apply my theoretical conclusions to practical issues of medical decision making for children, compulsory education, parental and state authority, and the age of majority. I begin with an analysis of paternalism in liberal political theory and its justificatory bases in the concepts of rationality and autonomy. On the basis of empirical studies of children's rationality I draw the preliminary conclusion that the age of majority should be lowered to fourteen years. Next, I consider utilitarian justifications for paternalistic treatment of children. I conclude that utilitarianism leads to an illiberal paternalism that would both maintain the present age of majority and call for expanded compulsory education and compulsory parent training. In light of utilitarian objections to rationality-based paternalism I consider whether the scope of liberal paternalism might be expanded to give greater weight to welfarist concerns. I argue against Rawls's lexical priority of liberty and for a more flexible balancing of liberty against welfare within the conception of justice as fairness. Turning to concrete problems, I analyze recent cases in law involving transplantation of organs between siblings, and argue that the nature of intimate relationships provides a ground for the partial compromise of freedom of the person in the context of family medical needs. However, I contend that adolescents should have authority to make their own medical decisions at age fourteen. I consider the proper scope of parental authority to shape the lives and values of children. I consider the justification and scope of compulsory education and propose a non-compulsory incentive system for continued education after the age of fourteen years. On the basis of my earlier argument for balancing welfare against liberty, I claim that it is permissible and advisable to set a higher age threshold for drinking, driving, marriage, and military service than is set for majority generally.

While the participation of children in armed conflict has been evident for some time, internal community mobilization on the issue is fairly recent. In 1993, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolution 48/157 in response to a request by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.<br /> <br /> At the present the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers reports that approximately 300,000 children in over 40 countries worldwide are engaged in armed conflict. Of the estimated 300,000 child soldiers in the world, 120,000 can be found in Africa alone.<br /> Apart from making them direct combatants, both governments and armed groups use children as messengers, lookouts, porters, spies able to enter small spaces, and even use them as suicide bombers and human mine detectors. In the due course of such use and abuse children are forced to kill or are themselves killed, sexually assaulted, raped, forced to become wives of the commanders, exposed to drugs and forced labour, showing the cross cutting nature and magnitude of the problem of child soldiers.<br /> <br /> There are a variety of international legal standards which, at first glance, seem to give some direction and guidance in the protection of child soldiers. In spite of these legal instruments for the protection of child soldiers in Africa, however, much remains to be done as the problem is continuing at a larger scale every day and new challenges keep cropping up. This study will look into ways of addressing these problems in the context of Africa.<br /> <br /> Therefore, in order to address the issue to the best possible level, the normative framework in place may need to be strengthened. Moreover, in an attempt to be comprehensive in addressing the problem, ways of dealing with child soldiers who have allegedly committed atrocities during armed conflict should be included. This piece explores how these issues could possibly be addressed to provide for protection to the child soldier in Africa.

In this research I present a conceptual analysis of conceptions of child and childhood. These conceptions largely point to a worldview that sees childhood as a universal construct, and I argue that the conceptualisation of childhood differs in cultural, historical, political, philosophical and developmental psychology domains. I argue that what is common to many of these discourses is that concepts and conceptions of child and childhood reveal differences in how one views the dichotomy between adult-child. I also go on to discuss the implications of these conceptions of child, childhood and child’s voice in a school context. The many discourses of childhood are underpinned by beliefs and assumptions about the experience and purpose of childhood, and therefore inform policies and shape educational practice. How a community or society conceptualises childhood is implied in the practices and policies of that community or society. While some researchers agree there is a need to reconceptualise childhood, consensus dissolves around the diverse definitions of child and childhood and how child’s voice should be included in educational contexts. I explore the positioning of child in historical and contemporary constructs and discuss emerging trends of how child and childhood is conceptualised. I examine arguments with regards to opening up debates that suggest that if child and childhood is reconceptualised there is potential to move beyond normative policies, practices and pedagogies that remain entrenched in our current educational contexts. Drawing on my own experiences in working with children I use these experiences to argue that there has been a shift in my own thinking about child and offer through the literature that many authors suggest alternative constructions of child as a being, with capabilities of giving voice. To consider what the concept voice means in terms of including child’s voice in educational contexts, links emerge with the discourse of children’s rights and the diverse and complex conceptualisations of child and childhood. Researchers, educators and policy-policy makers need to examine their meanings of child and childhood and critically engage with the assumptions thereof in order to reconceptualise hegemonic dominance of policies and practices based on one definition of child. Children’s rights have been part of a legal framework, while understanding of what it means to be child run deeper into theories of childhood underpinned by moral, socio- economic and political agendas that are part of child’s world. Advocates of the children’s rights discourse argue that a contemporary crisis in childhood has emerged, causing a power struggle between adult-child relationships, as child is acknowledged as a powerful individual whose experiences are to be taken seriously.