ŠOLA IN OTROKOVA PRAVICA POVEDATI SVOJE MNENJE - Račnik, Staša (S. Račnik, 2010)
Otrokom pripadajo temeljne človekove pravice in svoboščine, v skladu z njihovo starostjo in zrelostjo. Te so opredeljene v številnih mednarodnopravnih aktih, med katerimi so najpomembnejši v diplomskem delu tudi omenjeni. Otrokom pripada posebno varstvo in skrb, zato jim pripadajo tudi posebne pravice, opredeljene v Konvenciji ZN o otrokovih pravicah, Evropski konvenciji o uresničevanju otrokovih pravic in v drugih aktih. V diplomskem delu so omenjeni tudi Ustava RS, zakoni, ki dajejo otroku pravico, da pove svoje mnenje in relevantni predpisi s področja šolstva. Prav tako je na kratko opisana tudi svoboda izražanja. Za boljše razumevanje področja otrokovih pravic je potrebno najprej opredeliti pojem otroka, razložiti njegov prehod od objekta pravic k subjektu, ter opisati njegove pravice. Otrokom so pravice zagotovljene tudi na področju izobraževanja. Najpomembnejša je že sama pravica do izobraževanja. Države, ki spoštujejo človekove pravice, morajo namreč zagotavljati pogoje za izobrazbo svojih državljanov. V šoli imajo otroci tudi pravico do varnosti, svobode izražanja, vesti, zasebnosti, družinskega življenja ter zbiranja in združevanja. Pomembno je, da ima otrok možnost sodelovati v vseh postopkih v zvezi z njim in da lahko izrazi svoje mnenje. Pravica do izražanja mnenj se v šoli uresničuje na različne načine. V nekaterih primerih otrokove pravice uveljavljajo starši, v drugih pa otroci sami. Ta pravica se različno uresničuje v osnovnem in v srednjem izobraževanju, saj imajo v slednjem otroci več možnosti, da sami poskrbijo za svoje pravice. Pri tem pa se postavlja vprašanje, če je v šoli ta pravica res dovolj uresničena in s tem zagotovljena največja korist otroka. Fundamental rights and freedoms belong to children in accordance with their age and maturity. Those rights are defined in numerous international human right's documents and the most important ones are mentioned in this thesis. Children need special care and protection, therefore they also have special rights incorporated in The Convention on the Rights of the Child, European Convention on the exercise of children's rights and other international instruments. The thesis gives a short description of national legislation, that gives children the right to voice their opinion and other relevant regulations in the field of education. There is also a short explanation of freedom of speech. To understand this theme better, we need to define, what a word child means, then explain how children became a subject of human rights and give a short description of children's rights. Children's rights are guaranteed in the field of education. The most important is the right to education itself. In school they also have the right to security, freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, right to privacy, family life and the right of assembly and association. It is essential that children have the opportunity to participate in all maters that affect them. The child who is capable of forming his or her own views has the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child and the views of the child are respected in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. Therefore children are given the right to express their opinion in school. They can express their views themselves or they can be represented by their parents. There is a difference between children in primary and high school, since in high school children are older and more mature and they can protect their own rights. The question is: are children's rights in school protected well enough and is the best interest of a child really considered?