Principals and their staff know that the institutions and principles of democracy are defined by their national constitution and included in their curricula. Therefore, they are not negotiable. Children and adolescents should have the right to participate in decision making that affects their health, well-being and development. This right is enshrined in Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which requires the views of children and young people to be heard “in all matters affecting the child”.
The fundamental tenets of democracy include human rights and children’s rights. In order to protect minorities and the weak and vulnerable, for example, children and young people, there are limits as to what the majority can decide. In a democratic system, all laws and decisions must comply with human and children’s rights. This is one of the most important principles that children and young people must learn in school, both in theory and in practice. Therefore, in addition to meeting the curricular requirements in education for democracy and human rights, schools need to provide relevant real-life experiences for their students in the school community.
But HOW can this be done?
The objectives of this sequence for principals on Democracy and Participation in Schools are to provide ideas to promote the participation of students, parents, teachers and the community in the planning and decision making process of their schools with suggestions, practical steps and best practice models for democratic leadership.
