27 Feb Human rights teaching reduces bullying, study finds
Teaching children about their human rights can reduce bullying and exclusions, improve relations with teachers and create a calmer atmosphere for learning, according to an academic study published today.
A Unicef UK project running in more than 1,000 schools across Britain teaches pupils about their rights and responsibilities, and encourages them to draw up charters for classroom behaviour.
The first evaluation of the project since its launch in 2004 has found that its introduction was accompanied by a fall in truancy and an improvement in results at schools with a high proportion of children on free school meals.
The evidence is highlighted in a three-year study of the Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA), undertaken by researchers at the universities of Sussex and Brighton.
In a study of 31 schools, researchers found that there was “little or no shouting” and that conflicts between pupils escalated far less frequently than they had done before the schools adopted the new approach. Fixed-term exclusions decreased in 13 schools, stabilised in three, and five reported no exclusions, the study says.
Pupils increasingly took part in making decisions, ranging from debates about the state of the playground to discussions on staff appointments. In some schools, pupils showed candidates for teaching jobs around the school and identified questions they wanted to ask.
Pupils also gave feedback after candidates for teaching jobs gave sample lessons.
Anita Tiessen, deputy executive director of Unicef UK, said: “It is wrong that all children in the UK don’t learn about their rights. Today’s evaluation report shows what a profound effect it can have not only on children, but teachers, school leaders, governors and parents.”
Meanwhile, research published today by the educational charity the Sutton Trust finds that poor children are twice as likely to start school with behaviour problems, compared with their more privileged peers. More than a third (35%) of the poorest three-year-old boys displayed behaviour problems, compared with one in six (15%) of those living in richer households, the study says.
The research, by Elizabeth Washbrook of Bristol University, asked parents to rate their child’s behaviour in terms of hyperactivity and inattention, problems with conduct, emotional symptoms, and peer-related problems.
By the age of seven, 22% of the poorest boys still suffered from behaviour problems, compared towith 10% of those from richer homes.
Amongst girls, the rates were lower, but nearly a third of the poorest girls exhibited symptoms of behaviour problems at the age of three, which dropped to a fifth at age seven.
The research suggests that the gap in behaviour between poorer and wealthier children has widened over the last 10 years. Girls from low-income families who were born in the early 1990s were twice as likely to display behavioural problems than their peers at age seven. Those born around the millennium were three-and-a-half times as likely to show such symptoms.
Behaviour problems are more common among children from disadvantaged backgrounds, the study says, and the differences between rich and poor are starkest at the age of three, before children begin school.
Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the education charity Sutton Trust, said: “This study builds on earlier evidence from the trust showing that children from poorer homes are already one year behind their middle-income peers on cognitive tests when they start school.
“We now know that disadvantaged children are also much more likely to have difficult and challenging behaviour. It is no wonder that the gaps in achievement grow during primary school.
“More than anything, the research shows once again why it is so important to intervene pre-school to stem problems before they develop.”