We are all the same, but... : Kenyan and Swedish school children's views on children's rights

Abstract: This thesis presents a study on how school children in Kenya and Sweden express their views on children’s rights, in particular rights related to participation, non-discrimination, and education. The overall purpose was to explore the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, its claim to be universal and its relevance for children in various school and life contexts. Group interviews were conducted with 58 children, aged 12-15 years, from four schools, two schools from each country. The interviews were introduced with an exercise of nine articles from the UN Convention which the groups were asked to discuss and rank from the most to the least important. The aim of the exercise was to make the UN articles known to the children and to open up for a conversation about rights. The theoretical framing for the study is anchored in the tradition of sociology of childhood. Analyses of empirical data were based on the cultural politics of childhood, and the concepts vulnerability and separability. Accordingly, children are viewed as sharing the common experience of being children, but also as experiencing diverse everyday lives. They are regarded as social agents, whose voices carry perspectives important to be listened to. They are also looked upon as able to form and express their views and knowledge in relation to local economical, social and political conditions. The results showed that the children talked about themes and situations that were both common and diverse. They talked more about children’s needs than about children’s rights. Needs for ‘extended’ protection were particularly expressed, i.e. the importance of stable relationships with parents and other adults and peers. The study also showed that when issues on relationships with adults, participation and decision making were discussed, the children expressed experiences of being viewed as subordinated in a way that could be referred to as their inherent and structural vulnerability. A third important result showed that values and norms related to non-discrimination were largely produced and reproduced in peer-cultures. Finally, the children connected education to economical growth, for individuals as well as for societies. The overall conclusion from the study is that children view the UN Convention as a problem solver for children in exposed situations rather than as a document for their everyday life. From a child perspective, rights hold relational qualities, manifested in relationships with adults and peers. Furthermore, the study underlines that the young right holder is a ‘both-and’ child: both global and local, both being and becoming, and both dependent and independent.