How Do Students Interpret Human Rights in Their Drawings?

Purpose: In order for children to participate in life as citizens who know their rights, democracy and human rights education should be provided gradually at all educational stages. At the primary education level, human rights issues are included in the content of various courses, especially Human Rights, Citizenship and Democracy, and Social Studies courses. Students' perceptions and knowledge of human rights at each level of education should be examined using different research methods. This study aimed to examine the perceptions of 4th grade students about human rights through their drawings. Method: With the qualitative research approach, drawings on human rights of 4th grade students in a primary school with middle socio-economic students in a province in Türkiye and semi-structured interviews on these drawings were analyzed. Findings: In their drawings, students mostly included their personal rights such as freedom of religion and conscience, freedom of thought and opinion, and privacy, which they experienced in their daily lives at home, school, and around, and then their rights to education and training, business life, and working conditions. Only one student has included the right to choose from political rights. Implications: Teachers should address the issue of human rights in the education process by associating it with activities related to the family, school and environmental context and the daily lives of students. More comprehensive and in-depth research can be conducted at different grade levels in different socio-economic and cultural contexts that will reveal students' perceptions of human rights.