Page 96 - Šolsko polje, XXXI, 2020, 3-4: Convention on the Rights of the Child: Educational Opportunities and Social Justice, eds. Zdenko Kodelja and Urška Štremfel
P. 96
šolsko polje, letnik xxxi, številka 3–4
I don’t know, they probably really know less, those children living in
the village, because they probably don’t look in depth into these topics.
They’re probably talking to each other, but that’s not it. Also, the infor-
mation flow is slower there. And they do not emphasise their own opin-
ion so much. (Pia, 14 years, elementary school 5)
Still, in contrast, some believe that children living in rural areas, in
villages are better informed because fewer people live there, information
travels faster and the voice of the individual is more easily heard. Those
children also think that because school classes tend to be smaller in the
countryside, information travels faster and school subjects dealing with
participation are discussed in greater depth than in the cities.
In my opinion, for example, in larger cities where there are more people,
it is harder for everyone to express their opinion because there are too
many of them, but in smaller villages you can express your opinion be-
cause there are fewer people and it takes less time. (Nodi, 13 years, NGO
1)
Besides the age and place of residence, another important factor af-
fecting the status differentiation in terms of informedness about chil-
dren’s rights and child participation is the parents’ socio-economic, cul-
tural and educational status. Several focus group participants believe that
children from disadvantaged families exposed to the risk of poverty and
facing social problems are usually also deprivileged in terms of being in-
formed about their right to participate.
I don’t know, maybe those who are the minority, or those who don’t have
enough money to go to this school, and they don’t talk about it at all.
(Ema, 11 years, elementary school 8).
Something similar can be claimed for children whose parents are less
educated and for children with a migrant background.
Immigrants, let’s say we have a lot of Albanian immigrants. They simply
don’t understand so much ... They don’t know, I mean, they don’t under-
stand what kind of rights we have here in Slovenia because they can be
different from where they are from, for example .... (Summer, 14 years,
elementary school 7)
Another general observation indicating differences between chil-
dren from the focus groups with a general population of children and the
focus groups with vulnerable children is that vulnerable children are typ-
ically much more sensitive to inequalities based on their own experiences.
They mentioned several situations when they were treated unfairly due to
94
I don’t know, they probably really know less, those children living in
the village, because they probably don’t look in depth into these topics.
They’re probably talking to each other, but that’s not it. Also, the infor-
mation flow is slower there. And they do not emphasise their own opin-
ion so much. (Pia, 14 years, elementary school 5)
Still, in contrast, some believe that children living in rural areas, in
villages are better informed because fewer people live there, information
travels faster and the voice of the individual is more easily heard. Those
children also think that because school classes tend to be smaller in the
countryside, information travels faster and school subjects dealing with
participation are discussed in greater depth than in the cities.
In my opinion, for example, in larger cities where there are more people,
it is harder for everyone to express their opinion because there are too
many of them, but in smaller villages you can express your opinion be-
cause there are fewer people and it takes less time. (Nodi, 13 years, NGO
1)
Besides the age and place of residence, another important factor af-
fecting the status differentiation in terms of informedness about chil-
dren’s rights and child participation is the parents’ socio-economic, cul-
tural and educational status. Several focus group participants believe that
children from disadvantaged families exposed to the risk of poverty and
facing social problems are usually also deprivileged in terms of being in-
formed about their right to participate.
I don’t know, maybe those who are the minority, or those who don’t have
enough money to go to this school, and they don’t talk about it at all.
(Ema, 11 years, elementary school 8).
Something similar can be claimed for children whose parents are less
educated and for children with a migrant background.
Immigrants, let’s say we have a lot of Albanian immigrants. They simply
don’t understand so much ... They don’t know, I mean, they don’t under-
stand what kind of rights we have here in Slovenia because they can be
different from where they are from, for example .... (Summer, 14 years,
elementary school 7)
Another general observation indicating differences between chil-
dren from the focus groups with a general population of children and the
focus groups with vulnerable children is that vulnerable children are typ-
ically much more sensitive to inequalities based on their own experiences.
They mentioned several situations when they were treated unfairly due to
94
