Children's rights and realities

The course gives an introduction to children’s rights as formulated in the 54 articles of the UN Convention on the rights of the Child and problematized by international scholars and practitioners. It covers the history of the development of rights for children as well as the history of the construction of childhood. Special emphasis is placed on considering the rights that children have against the circumstances that children are in, according to reports from countries around the world, revealing the varied realities of children’s lives globally.

Since the course offers a first general introduction to children’s rights, it will suit those interested in starting points for children’s welfare and best interests. The course may speak to professionals working with children (such as teachers and trainee teachers) and professionals working on behalf of children and for their well-being (such as professionals in healthcare, social work, voluntary organizations, and so on), as well as volunteers who work with children or regularly encounter children in social and cultural activities.

The course runs for 8–10 weeks and includes four topical lectures, three workshops in which students prepare for interviewing a child about children’s rights, and two seminars in which students present what they discover about children’s rights in their home country, and child interview results. Also included in the course are three debates in which students explore pressing issues confronting children and child rights advocates today. Debates have for example focused on children’s recruitment to criminal networks, and connections between family vlogging and child labour. Students are assessed formatively through two oral presentations and summatively through a final written assignment.