Abstract
M.Ed. (Educational Psychology)
Education in human rights has been grossly neglected in the South African schooling system. The far-reaching changes that are currently being worked in this country, however, compel all educators to start instructing their students not only in their own rights, but also in the rights of their fellow-citizens. This study forms part of a greater research project that has been launched by the Department of Educational Sciences of the Rand Afrikaans University. The aim of this study was to establish to what extent pupils have been made aware of their right to freedom and privacy by the time they have reached Std. 10. The following aspects of the right to freedom and privacy were identified on the basis of a literature study: the right to protection of a person's body, freedom of speech and expression, freedom of association, freedom of thought, freedom of worship, freedom of movement and the right to privacy. Following the identification of the above-mentioned aspects, a questionnaire was compiled, the results of which were verified by the process of content validation. Hypotheses made on the bases of pender, age group and religious affiliation were tested and the confidence of the questionnaire was tested on the 1% and 5% level. The most important findings of the investigation are as follows: The high average values obtained in respect of all aspects of freedom and privacy indicate that the respondents attach much importance to and are well informed on their right to freedom and privacy.
The fact that so many respondents attach much importance to the right to the protection of their bodies, to the right to associate with whomever they choose and to freedom of speech, shows these factors to be of vital importance to their education. It was found that female respondents were of the opinion that pupils were made more aware of their right to freedom and privacy by the time they had reached Std. 10 than their male counterparts. Significant differences of opinion were found to exist between teachers and pupils, the various age groups, language groups, religions and teachers with different teaching experiences and qualifications as regards the question to what extent schools have made children aware of their right to freedom and privacy by the time they have reached Std. 10. Respondents were of the opinion that neither media exposure (l.e. radio, television and newspapers) nor school education and
guardianship had any significant influence on the extent to which pupils are informed on their right to freedom and privacy. It can be concluded, therefore, that greater awareness needs to be created at school level as far as the education of pupils as to their right to freedom and privacy is concerned. It is recommended, furthermore, that a counselling programme be launched that would enable teachers, parents and pupils to gain thorough knowledge of their right to freedom and privacy, and of their responsibility to exercise these rights.