Rights of Children in the Kenyan Primary School Curriculum

Abstract

Kenyans today are very conscious and assertive of their rights. They ensured that basic human rights are enshrined in the new Constitution of Kenya 2010 that they passed. Despite all these, it is relevant to question how knowledge about human rights is transmitted and acquired by young Kenyans. We carried out a study in an attempt to provide an answer to this question. Using content analysis method we examined the rights of children as discussed in various social studies text books that are currently used in Kenyan primary schools. The objective was to identify rights of the children, interrogate them as well, as compare and contrast how various authors/publishers have presented them. In addition, the same method was used to identify and document incidents of violation of children rights as reported in the Daily Nation. The major finding of this study is that the social studies curriculum in primary schools as presented in the books that we examined adequately exposes young Kenyans to their rights and related issues. Pupils who successfully complete primary school course can be viewed to be knowledgeable and aware of their rights. Examining the reported incidents in the Daily Nation however showed that there is still a societal problem in protecting children from abuse. Children are vulnerable and defenseless. Generally, they are not capable of asserting their rights. This is evident, especially, in situations where violators of children rights are people close to them such as parents, guardians and teachers.