AWARENESS TOWARDS HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY EDUCATION: A MIXED METHOD RESEARCH

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate prospective teachers' views on the elective Human Rights and Democracy Education course taught in the Faculty of Education. This study was conducted based on a mixed-methods approach. For this purpose, the opinions of 144 students who took and did not take this course were evaluated according to the branch, gender, and class variables using the Attitude Scale towards Human Rights Education. In addition, the views of 10 students on the effectiveness, importance, and recommendations of the course were collected through focus group interviews. According to the results obtained, there was a statistically significant difference in the Education of Human Rights Field scores based on whether the students took the course or not, but there was no significant difference in the Human Rights in Education Environment scores in terms of department, gender, and class level. Students emphasized the importance of this course and stated that it should be taught practically at all levels.