‘No‐one respects them anyway’: secondary school students’ perceptions of human rights education in Turkey

Students as Change Agents in the Community: Developing Active Citizenship at Schools

“…These might originate from the fact that democratic citizenship and human rights courses are not adequately represented in pre-service teacher education programs. Considering the fact that teachers have an essential role in the process of democratic enculturation in democratic societies (Gündoğdu, 2011), teachers' knowledge and skills should be improved by means of several ways (Çayır & Bağlı, 2011;Ersoy, 2012aErsoy, , 2014. Accordingly, the pre-service teacher education programs in general, and particularly the preparation of social studies teachers need to be reconsidered and improved in terms of developing the active citizenship skills of teachers who, in return, will develop those skills in students.…”

“…Active participation of students in solving the community problems around their school would also contribute to the development of in-school democracy, which is crucial in developing the competencies for active citizenship. Yet, it is still a shortfall in most Turkish schools (Engin-Demir et al, 2014) which could be attributed to several reasons such as the use of traditional teaching methods (Ersoy, 2012a(Ersoy, , 2014Memişoğlu, 2014), the lack of necessary instructional materials (Akşit;Çayır, 2002), the lack of appropriate curricula and textbooks (Başaran, 2007;Çayır & Bağlı, 2011;Er et al, 2013;Keleş & Tonga, 2014;Tonga & Uslu, 2015;Ülger, 2013;Ünal, 2012), and the traditional school culture (Ersoy, 2014). Given the existing social, political, cultural, and economic context of Turkish society, the improvement of those elements might facilitate the development of in-school democracy (Şişman, Güleş, & Dönmez, 2010), and in the long run, might also contribute to the improvement of the existing hybrid democracy.…”

“…They also sought to develop necessary skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, cooperation, and negotiation (Altan, 2012;Gözütok, Gülbahar, & Köse, 2007;Tezgel, 2006). However, many studies still point out the need for the improvement of the textbooks and the curriculum to become compatible with the notion of "democratic and active" citizenship (e.g., Akşit, 2009;Başaran, 2007;Çayır, 2002Çayır & Bağlı, 2011;Er, Ünal, & Özmen, 2013;İnce, 2012;Karaman-Kepenekci, 2005;Keleş & Tonga, 2014;Tonga & Uslu, 2015;Ülger, 2013;Ünal, 2012). Similarly, a number of studies addressed the need for the improvement of student outcomes (e.g., knowledge, skills, and attitudes) in relation to democratic citizenship and human rights (e.g., Akengin, 2008;Bağlı, 2013;Dolmacı & Kuşat, 2015;Keser et al, 2011;Sadık & Sarı, 2012) and others stressed the need for the improvement of teaching democratic citizenship and human rights by improving knowledge, skills and attitudes of teachers and teacher candidates (e.g., Doğanay, Çuhadar, & Sarı, 2007;Ersoy, 2012aErsoy, , 2014Gündoğdu, 2011;Memişoğlu, 2014).…”

“…Basically, the 7th grade "Citizenship and Human Rights Education" course underlined the themes such as common heritage of humanity, development of human rights, the relationship between ethics and human rights, and basic rights and freedoms. In the 8th grade, the same course covered topics such as state, democracy, constitution, citizenship rights, responsibilities, protection of human rights, national security and power, and the problems regarding the protection of human rights (Çayır & Bağlı, 2011;Çayır & Gürkaynak, 2008). However, as part of one of the most comprehensive reforms in the system of Turkish education, these courses have been abolished in 2005.…”

“…Indeed, this may traditionally result from the prevalence of two opposite tendencies: On the one hand, historically, Turkish Republic has adopted a policy of national developmentalism with an emphasis on the indivisibility of the nation by diverse groups. On the other hand, especially due to being an official candidate for the European Union (EU) since 1999, Turkey has attempted to align its administrative and legal structure with human rights agreements and European standards (Çayır & Bağlı, 2011;Keyman & İçduygu, 2005). In particular, human rights discourse was identified as a high priority area for the EU membership (Ilkkaracan & Ercevik-Amado, 2005).…”