A Study of The Life Studies Curricula Implemented Since the Foundation of the Republic in Terms of Children’s Rights

This study aims to examine the Life Studies Curricula which have been adopted since the proclamation of the Republic in terms of children’s rights. The 1936, 1948, 1968, 1998, 2009, 2015, and 2018 curricula were examined for this purpose. The study was designed in accordance with the scanning model. The data was collected and analyzed through document review. A form prepared using the Convention on the Rights of the Child obtained from UNICEF's official website and the study conducted by Uluç (2008) was used as the data collection tool. The data was analyzed with the descriptive analysis method, and the outcomes/objectives in the curricula were evaluated based on the prepared form. The study revealed that children's rights were included most in the 2009 curriculum and least in the 1936 curriculum. When all of the curricula were examined, it was found that the curricula included participation rights most and development rights least.


INTRODUCTION
All individuals need other individuals to support them from the moment they are born. In other words, individuals need adult support in order to acquire the right to life, which is the most basic right. But this support should not be perceived as adult control. Every individual, including those in the childhood period, deserves to live in an environment that enables them to lead a healthy life, support them in all areas of development, and help them realize their potentials. This is generally related to the concept of human rights, but it refers to children's rights when it comes to childhood.
When the historical development of children's rights is examined, it can be said that the process that started with the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1924 became more global with the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November 1989 (UNICEF, 2009;Karataş, 2016;Merey, 2016). The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a document that legally guarantees the rights of children. It is very important as it determines and guides the scope and quality of children's rights (Collins, 2017). The first section of the Convention on the Rights of the Child including articles 1 to 41 explains rights of children and responsibilities of states; the section including articles 42 to 45 explains duties and responsibilities of states for protection of children's rights, regulations for teaching the articles of the CRC (Convention on the Rights of the Child) to both children and adults, and inspection of the field of application of the convention while the third section including articles 46 to 54 explains the process for ratification and entry into force of the articles. The rights of the child contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child are gathered in 4 basic sections: the right to life, the right to development, the right to protection and the right to participation. The right to life covers the most basic needs of the child, such as having appropriate living standards in the society they live, being able to benefit from health services, and to feed adequately etc. The right to development includes the support of the child as an individual to receive the necessary education and access information so that they can use their potential. The right to protection makes sure that children are protected against all kinds of physical or psychological abuse and neglect (UNICEF, 2004; as cited in Toğrulca, 2019). Physical protection of children is related to their freedom while psychological protection is related to education (Ezer, 2004). The right to participate is the right to protect and support the child's participation in any social or political environment and to make sure that they have a voice in decision-making and implementation processes. The right to participate is important for a variety of reasons including respect for children's rights, fulfillment of legal responsibilities, improvement of services and decision-making, improvement of democratic dialogues, protection and empowerment of children. That is because positive participation improves children's self-confidence and skills (Collins, 2017;UNICEF, 2004). Accordingly, the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that children live, are taken care of, raised and participate in a favorable environment in general (Dirican, 2018:40).
Children's rights are an integral part of social and individual emancipation, i.e. human rights. Freedom-based education given in childhood is closely related to future libertarian life. Therefore, children's rights should be developed in parallel with the necessities of the time (Fazlıoğlu, 2007;as cited in Gürdoğan Bayır, Gültekin and Balbağ, 2016). Children and adults who do not know the rights of the child cannot be expected to be conscious and participatory in this matter. Therefore, children's rights should be an integral part of education from an early age (Uluç, 2008). It is thought that elementary education also forms the basis for children to realize and adopt these rights, and that they should also be included in curricula. The fact that primary school teachers and administrators included in the study conducted by Uçuş and Şahin (2012) stated that they shared issues related to children's rights with children only when they were included in the curricula supports this necessity. Of course, courses such as life studies, social studies, human rights and citizenship etc. are considered to be highly effective for a subject with individual and social dimensions such as children's rights. In this study, children's rights were examined within the context of the life studies lesson. The life studies lesson aims to make children get to know themselves and be happy and useful individuals in society and in the world. Therefore, it is stated that the life studies lesson is the first lesson in which children can learn about social life and form the basis of their ideas about being individuals and citizens (Erbay, 2013). Children need to be aware of and know their rights so that the life studies lesson can achieve the aim of raising good people and good citizens, (Sönmez and Görmez, 2016). In the light of all these, it is very important to address the rights of the child in the life studies lesson. In order to effectively address children's rights in the life studies lesson, they should be reflected in the learning outcomes in curricula as they form the basis of in-class activities. For this reason, it is very important that the outcomes in the life studies curriculum include children's rights. The literature reveals that there are studies examining Life Studies Curricula in terms of children's rights, but these studies focus more on the right to participation (Dündar and Hareket, 2016;Öztürk, 2017). This study is different in that it reveals all of the rights to life, development, protection and participation included in the Convention on the Rights of the Child from past to present. A detailed examination of Life Studies Curricula in terms of children's rights is considered important as it draws a general picture of life studies and children's rights. Based on this idea, this study aims to examine the extent to which the Life Studies Curricula have included children's rights since the proclamation of the Republic. The study tries to answer the following questions for this purpose:  How much did the Life Studies Curricula put into force between 1936 and 2018 (the 1936, 1948, 1968, 1998, 2009, 2015 and 2018 curricula) incorporate children's rights?
 How does the extent to which children's rights are included in the Life Studies Curricula vary by years?

METHOD
Aiming to examine Life Studies Curricula from past to present in terms of children's rights, this study was carried out using the scanning model. Scanning models are research models that enable identifying a past or present situation as it is. In the scanning model, the researcher can directly examine the object or individual, or obtain historical data such as written documents, pictures, and sound recordings etc. and interpret this information in a certain way with their own observations (Karasar, 2010: 109).
The convenience sampling method, which is one of the purposive sampling methods, was used to determine the curricula to be included in the study. The case is selected by determining close and easily accessible cases in the convenience sampling method (Patton, 1987;Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2005). The research sample consists of the learning outcomes (objectives) included in the 1936, 1948, 1968, 1998, 2009, 2015, and 2018 Life Studies Curricula obtained through scanning.

Data Collection
The data was collected and analyzed through document review. In order to reach the documents, a comprehensive screening process was carried out to reach the curricula included in the sample (Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2005). Table 1 shows the information about the documents and how those documents were accessed.  Table 1 shows that seven curricula that were put into effect and practice were examined. The 1926 curriculum could not be evaluated because it could not be reached. After the primary sources were reached, the curricula were examined in detail and it was decided to examine the learning outcomes.
A form was created to effectively examine the outcomes. A literature review was carried out, and the form created by Uluç (2008) to examine primary education curricula was used after obtaining the author's permission as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child while preparing this form. The form was given its final shape in line with the opinions received from experts in the fields of Classroom Teaching and Social Studies Teaching. This form was named as "Children's Rights Assessment Form". The Children's Rights Assessment Form consists of 4 categories: The right to life, the right to development, the right to protection and the right to participation as well as the summary items under these categories. The meanings of the articles in the convention were summarized in a clear and understandable manner while determining the items. For example, the item "protection of the rights to life, survival and development" in the right to life category of the Children's Rights Assessment Form was created by summarizing Article 6 in the right to life category of the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1 .

Data Analysis
Descriptive analysis, which is a qualitative data analysis method, was used in the data analysis step. In descriptive analysis, data is often classified according to pre-determined themes, and findings related to these themes are summarized and interpreted (Baltacı, 2019). Descriptive analysis was used in this study as examination was performed according to the form-based categories.
It was recorded whether the examined outcomes included items related to the relevant category, and percentage and frequency values were calculated. The outcomes were included in the categories of the form according to their meanings (by using their explanations, if any). For example, the outcome "participates in the process of determining in-class rule/rules and obeys the rules" was included in the right to participation category. Moreover, frequently repeated words were used as codes. For example, outcomes containing the code "participates" were examined in the participation category upon examining the meaning of the outcome.
In order to ensure the reliability of the research, the 2018 curriculum was evaluated by a different researcher based on the created form, and the results of the two evaluations were compared using the reliability formula developed by Miles and Huberman (1994). Accordingly, it was concluded that the evaluation results were 80% consistent.

FINDINGS
In this section, the findings obtained from the analysis of the data are presented in accordance with the sub-objectives. Only the findings related to the categories found in the curricula are given in tables in order to avoid intensity.

Children's Rights in the Life studies Curriculum which Took Effect between 1936 and 2018
In this section, each curriculum is evaluated separately in terms of children's rights.

Review of the 1936 Life Studies Curriculum
The 1936 Life Studies Curriculum contains a total of 94 learning outcomes: 30 for the first grade, 33 for the second grade, and 31 for the third grade. Table 3 shows the categories included in these outcomes as well as information related to the relevant items. * Matching outcome codes are outcome numbers assigned according to the grades in the curriculum.
Percentages of the outcomes were obtained from the proportion of matching items to total outcomes.
The review of the 1936 Life Studies Curriculum according to Table 3 reveals that the right to development, the right to protection and the right to participation examined in the form were not included in any learning outcomes. Only the right to life was included in the curriculum for the first and second grades by 5.31%. These outcomes, as shown in Table 2, are related to the right to rest, leisure and engage in recreational activities. For example, the outcome "13_Play at home: Games; how do we play with toys at home?" included in the curriculum for the first grade was associated with "Article 31: the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities" as it states that playing games is a valuable way of spending time. No outcomes related to children's rights could be found for the third grade.

Review of the 1948 Life Studies Curriculum
The 1948 Life Studies Curriculum contains a total of 89 learning outcomes: 30 for the first grade, 31 for the second grade, and 28 for the third grade. Table 3 shows the categories included in these outcomes as well as information related to the relevant items: Percentages of the outcomes were obtained from the proportion of matching items to total outcomes.
The review of the 1948 Curriculum according to Table 3 reveals that it contains the right to life in four outcomes, the right to participation in four outcomes, and the right to development in one outcome. Accordingly, it was found that children's rights were included in the 1948 curriculum outcomes by 10.11%. On the other hand, no outcomes could be found regarding children's rights in the outcomes for the first grade. It was concluded that the right to life, the right to participation, and the right to development were included only for the second and third grades. No outcomes could be found regarding the category of the right to protection.
For example, part C titled "related articles published in newspapers and magazines" under the second-grade outcome "9-Savings and national products week" was associated with "Article 17: Access to mass media and other sources of information" as it encourages research and free use of resources.

Review of the 1968 Life Studies Curriculum
The 1968 Life Studies Curriculum contains a total of 123 learning outcomes: 37 for the first grade, 42 for the second grade, and 44 for the third grade. indicates the outcome code. Percentages of the outcomes were obtained from the proportion of matching items to total outcomes. Table 5 shows that the learning outcomes of the 1968 curriculum include the right to life and right to participation dimensions of children's rights. Accordingly, it can be said that children's rights were included in the 1968 curriculum by 5.69%. On the other hand, the right to rest and engage in recreational activities which is a part of the right to life was included at all levels while the right to communication under the right to participation category was included only for the second grade. It was found out that the right to protection and the right to development were not included in the outcomes of the 1968 curriculum.
For example; the fifth sub-outcome titled "making use of leisure time" under item F "Improving our district and making it beautiful" in the third unit titled "Getting to know our district" among the third grade outcomes was associated with "Article 31: The right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities".

Review of the 1998 Life Studies Curriculum
The 1998 Life Studies Curriculum contains a total of 228 outcomes: 58 for the first grade, 86 for the second grade, and 84 for the third grade.  Table 6 shows that the outcomes of the 1998 Curriculum include the categories of right to life, right to development, and right to participation. Accordingly, it was found that children's rights were included in the 1998 curriculum outcomes by 8.33%. The right to life category includes outcomes related to living, receiving health services, resting, and having fun. Outcomes related to identity protection and qualified education were determined in the right to development category. The right to participation category includes outcomes related to the right to express views in all matters affecting the child, freedom of thought, the right to form associations and, the right to access mass media. On the other hand, no outcomes containing the right to protection could be detected. When examined at grade level, it was found that the outcomes for all three grades were related to children's rights. However, it can be said that the third grade includes fewer children's rights compared to other grades.
For example, the outcome "Target III. Participation in election activities in the classroom" in "Unit 2: Participation in classroom activities and task sharing" in the first grade curriculum was associated with "Article 12: The right to express views freely in all matters affecting the child, to be given due weight, and to play an active role in decisions". Outcome number 15 titled "Leading a healthy life" which was among the special targets for the second grade was matched with "Article 24: Right to access to health care and protection of the health by competent persons and institutions".

Review of the 2009 Primary School Life Studies Curriculum
A total of 292 learning outcomes were determined in the 2009 Life Studies Curriculum: 86 for the first grade, 95 for the second grade, and 111 for the third grade. The letter indicates the theme, the digit in the second order indicates the grade, and the number given in the third order indicates the outcome code in the table. Table 7 indicates that the 2009 Curriculum includes outcomes in all categories of the right to life, the right to development, the right to participation, and the right to protection. Accordingly, children's rights were included in the 2009 curriculum by 21.23%. When the categories are examined separately, it is seen that the right to participate came first by a significant margin. It is seen that the right to make decisions, express opinions, and access information is dominant in this category (f=51). It is understood that the right to life comes after the right to participation (f=5). The right to rest and engage in recreational activities is included in the right to life while the right to development includes protection of identity. It was found that the right to development and the right to protection were equally included (f=3). When examined in terms of grades, it is understood that children's rights were included in all grades. The relevant outcome could not be detected in the right to protection category for the first and second grades. When the 2009 curriculum is examined in general, it can be said that children's rights were included in the curriculum by 21.23%, but most of these outcomes are related to the right to participation. For example; the second-grade learning outcome "A.2.6. Contributes to the democracy culture by participating in election activities in his/her school and class" matches "Article 12: The right to express views freely in all matters affecting the child, to be given due weight, and to play an active role in decisions" as the child is entitled to express his/her opinions freely in matters affecting himself/herself. The third-grade outcome "A.3.2. Accepts that similarities and differences among students are natural" corresponds to "Article 2: Prohibition of discrimination" as it enables children to know and accept each other as is.

Review of the 2015 Life Studies Curriculum
A total of 146 learning outcomes were determined in the 2015 Life Studies Curriculum: 54 for the first grade, 49 for the second grade, and 43 for the third grade.  Table 7 indicates that children's rights were included in the outcomes of the curriculum by 11.64%. It was observed that the 2015 Life Studies Curriculum included outcomes regarding the right to life, the right to protection and the right to participation. The right to participation was included most in the 2015 curriculum like the 2009 curriculum (f=9). This category includes the right to participate in decisions on matters of self-interest, the right to express their views, and the right to access mass media. The right to life category is followed by the right to participation (f=5). It was determined that this category included outcomes related to the rights to benefit from health services and social security. The right to protection was included least in the 2015 Life Studies Curriculum (f=3). As for the right to protection, prohibition of discrimination was emphasized. No outcomes were found in the curriculum to be classified under the right to development category. When examined in terms of grades, it is understood that children's rights were included almost equally in all grades.
For example, the outcome "1.1.6. Participates in the process of determining in-class rule/rules and obeys the rules" matches "Article 12: The right to express views freely in all matters affecting the child, to be given due weight, and to play an active role in decisions" as students participate in the decision making process.

Review of the 2018 Life Studies Curriculum
The 2018 Life Studies Curriculum includes a total of 148 outcomes: 53 for the first grade, 50 for the second grade, and 45 for the third grade. According to the table, there were 30 learning outcomes containing CRC articles in the 2018 Life Studies Curriculum. Table 9 indicates that the most participation rights are included in the outcomes of the 2018 curriculum (f=14). The primary benefit of the child, making decisions on matters of self-interest, expressing views, freedom of association and freedom of peaceful assembly, gaining access to mass media are the articles related to the right to participation included in the learning outcomes. The right to protection was included in the curriculum most after the right to participation (f=8). It was observed that the non-discrimination clause for the right to protection was included in the curriculum. The right to life category includes the protection of the right to life, the right to benefit from health and social security services, and the right to rest and entertainment (f=7).
For example; the second-grade outcome "HB.2.1.4. Participates in decision-making processes on class-related issues" is included in the right to participation category containing "Article 12: The right to express views freely in all matters affecting the child, to be given due weight, and to play an active role in decisions".

The Extent to which Children's Rights are Included in the Life Studies Curricula and Their Distribution by Years
This section gives the distribution of all life studies curriculum outcomes by year.  Article 12: The right to express views freely in all matters affecting the child, to be given due weight, and to play an active role in decisions.  Table 10 indicates that the curricula include a total of 150 learning outcomes related to children's rights. 84 (56%) of these outcomes are in the right to participation category, 41 (27.33%) are in the right to life category, 14 (9.33%) are in the right to protection category, and 11 (7.33%) are in the right to development category.

Right to Development
When all of the curricula included in the study are examined, it is seen that the outcomes are associated most with the right to participation (56%). It was concluded that the curriculum with the highest amount of participation rights was the 2009 curriculum. The right to participate in the 2009 curriculum mostly focused on the right to access sources of information (f=36), to be consulted on all matters of self-interest (f=22) and to express views (16). No outcomes were associated with the right to participation in the 1936 and 1948 curricula.
When all of the curricula included in the study are examined, it is seen that the second category with which the outcomes are associated most is the right to life (27.33%). The right to life was associated most with the outcomes of the 1998 curriculum. The focus was on the right to engage in recreational activities (f=27) in this category. This is followed by the right to benefit from health services (f=6) and the right to benefit from social services (f=6).
When all of the curricula included in the study are examined, it is seen that the third category with which the outcomes are associated most is the right to protection (9.33%). The highest number of outcomes regarding the right to protection category was determined in the 2018 curriculum. The only right associated with outcomes in this category is the prohibition of discrimination. These outcomes are included in the 2009, 2015 and 2018 curricula.
When all outcomes included in the study are examined, it is seen that the Right to Development category was included least in the outcomes (7.33%). A total of 11 outcomes were identified in this area. The right that was included most in this category is protection of identity (f=6). It is followed by the right of the disabled child to special care (f=2), and the right to qualified education (f=2). It was concluded that the right to development was included most in the 1998 curriculum. In the 1936 and 2015 curricula, however, no outcomes could be associated with this category.

CONCLUSION, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This study aims to examine Life Studies Curricula from the proclamation of the Republic to the present day in terms of children's rights. The document analysis revealed that children's rights have been included in Life Studies Curricula, albeit a little, since 1936. Of course, this has increased over the years, and the categories that are predominant in each curriculum differ.
When the 1936 Life Studies Curriculum is examined, it is seen that only the right to life was included by 5.31%. When examined according to the grades, the right to life was included only in the first and second grades. As for the outcomes included in the right to life, it is observed that these outcomes contained only the right to rest and leisure, to engage in recreational and cultural activities. The 1936 curriculum is extremely important in that new pedagogical ideas and the Republican regime could be reflected in the curriculum (Şahin, 2009). When the 1936 curriculum is examined, it is seen that important historical events and national feelings such as patriotism and devotion to the homeland come to the fore (Atik and Aytaç, 2019). In this regard, it is expected that children's rights are included to a small extent in the 1936 curriculum. One of the most important reasons why the 1936 curriculum contained so few items is that developments regarding children's rights had only recently started to come to the fore. It was observed that topics such as winter entertainment, new year, games etc. were added to the contents of the 1936 curriculum (Atik and Aytaç, 2009;Şahin, 2009). In this regard, it is quite significant that the right to life was included in the 1936 Life Studies Curriculum in the form of recreational and cultural activities in particular. Similarly, Kalender (2018) states in his study examining Life Studies Curricula in the context of the educational goals of the CRC that the 1936 curriculum contained, albeit in a small number, elements related to entertainment. As a result, considering the outcomes and the data, it can be said that the right to life, which is the most fundamental right that can be granted to children, was attached importance in the 1936 curriculum while other rights remained in the background.
It was found out that children's rights were included in the 1948 Life Studies Curriculum by 10.11%. Four outcomes matched the right to life, 4 matched the right to participation, and 1 matched the right to development. Compared to the 1936 curriculum, it is significant that the right to participation was particularly included in that curriculum. That is because the 1948 curriculum aims to get students to know their environment and to become aware of the nature in which they live. The 1948 curriculum took its content from the environment and emphasized that teachers should teach the lessons in relation to nature. It was even stated that the outcomes in the curriculum could be ignored if they did not match the child's environment (Kalender, 2018). Therefore, the child plays an extremely important role in the creation of the content. Including the right to participation in the curriculum as much as the right to life enables the connection of the curriculum with the environment as well as learning through experience.
The review of the 1968 Life Studies Curriculum revealed that the right to rest and engage in recreational activities, which is a part of the Right to Life category, was included in all grades in similar amounts like the previous curricula. However, since the 1968 curriculum included the right to participation only in one outcome, it can be said that the right to participation was included in a small amount compared to the 1948 curriculum. The 1968 curriculum was enacted in the 1968-1969 academic year after a very long period of experimentation and planning. It is the curriculum that remained in force for the longest time, and it focuses on 5 basic skills: development of environmental awareness skills, civics, social relations, economic life knowledge and good life knowledge (Mala, 2011;Gözütok et al., 2013). This period, together with the education-oriented developments in the world, was a period in which different understandings and approaches were on the rise. However, development towards children's rights were not included enough in the curriculum as they were not reflected in education. Kalender (2018) found that the 1948 curriculum included characteristics related to developing communication in the social environment (expressing views and establishing positive communication) more than the 1968 curriculum. The study conducted by Öztürk (2017) on Life Studies Curricula within the scope of the right to participation revealed that the right to participation was not directly included in the 1968 curriculum (Öztürk, 2017). However, Öztürk (2017) states that it was included in the 1968 curriculum particularly to emphasize participation of children in the planning of the learning process, but it was not reflected in the curriculum. All these results are consistent with the results of this study. In this context, it can be inferred that the 1968 curriculum is weak in terms of children's rights, especially the right to participation.
The 1998 Life Studies Curriculum includes outcomes related to the rights to life, development and participation by 8.33%. Outcomes containing social rights started to be included in the curriculum as part of the Right to Life category. This result is consistent with the result of the study conducted by Kalender (2018). As for the right to development category, outcomes related to the protection of identity were included in the curriculum for the first time. The right to protection, as in previous curricula, was not included here. However, the 1998 curriculum is significantly different from the previous curricula in that the outcomes contained children's rights. This increase can certainly be interpreted as a reflection of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was ratified in Turkey in 1995.
The rise that started in 1998 continued with a much more serious leap in the 2009 Life Studies Curriculum. The 2009 curriculum was created by few additions the 2005 curriculum. The 2009 curriculum is a curriculum based on the concept of learning as well as students' needs and role in learning. However, the curriculum is similarly based on constructivism. As for the learning outcomes of the 2009 curriculum, children's rights were included by 21.33% in the curriculum. The 2009 curriculum includes children's rights more than all the other curricula. Studies examining Life Studies Curricula in terms of children's rights in Turkey reveal that the situation is similar in terms of the right to participation and educational purposes (Kalender, 2018;Öztürk, 2017). The study conducted by Ersoy (2011) states that most students learn children's rights in the life studies lesson, which can be regarded as a positive result of this. On the other hand, one of the findings reveals that the 2009 curriculum is the curriculum that contains the right to participation most. Inclusion of the right to participation in the curriculum to such a great extent could have resulted from the fact that this curriculum is a child-oriented curriculum. In addition, the curriculum integrated social and sports skills with other outcomes and encouraged children to take part in more activities (Mala, 2011). One of the important aspects of the 2009 curriculum that differs from other curricula is that, for the first time, outcomes related to the right to protection were included in this curriculum. It is very important that the right to protection is included in the curriculum, although it is relatively low compared to the right to participation. The right to protection refers to protection of children from consequences of others' dangerous decisions and from all forms of neglect, abuse, exploitation and discrimination (Alderson, 2000;Verhellen, 2015). Children can protect themselves more effectively if they have information about situations that may be experienced regarding the violation of the right to protection starting from early ages. Therefore, it is important to introduce children to protection rights within the education system, and the fact that they are included in the Life studies lesson only to a small extent is a matter that requires rectification.
It is noteworthy that the emphasis on children's rights decreased in the 2015 Life Studies Curriculum. It was found that 11.64% of the outcomes in the curriculum included children's rights. The 2015 curriculum includes outcomes regarding the right to life, the right to protection and the right to participation, but the right to development was not included. It is stated that the decrease in the 2015 curriculum could have resulted from the introduction of Human Rights, Civics and Democracy lesson for the fourth grade (Kalender, 2018). The 2018 Life Studies Curriculum, which is an edited version of the 2015 curriculum, included children's rights by approximately 21%. It was concluded that all categories were included in the 2018 Life Studies Curriculum but the right to participation was included more. It can be inferred that the shortfall in the 2015 curriculum was fixed at certain points.
When all the Life Studies Curricula were examined together, it was concluded that the right to participation, the right to life, the right to protection, and the right to development were included by 56%, 27.33%, 9.33%, and 7.33% respectively. The curriculum whose outcomes are most compatible with children's rights is the 2009 Life Studies Curriculum. It was also concluded that the right to participation was included most in the curricula. In his study examining primary school curricula, Uluç (2008) states that the principles of Life studies curriculum such as child centricity, active learning, and authenticity also coincide with the right to participation articles. However, the study has revealed that the right to participation has been included in the curricula especially since the 1998 curriculum. Öztürk (2017) states that expression of opinions by students was implicitly included in the 1968 curriculum whereas the right to participation was directly included. As for the distribution of participation rights within the curriculum, there was a slight decrease in the 2015 curriculum while they were included more in the 2018 curriculum. However, studies on child participation indicate that participation is not adequately included. For example, Kılıç (2017) investigated the extent to which children's rights to participation were realized in a primary school with high quality in terms of children's rights. As a result, it was concluded that the level of direct participation of children was quite low, and that child participation was not taken into account even while building playgrounds at schools. Urfalıoğlu (2019) found that children's participation and participation in arrangement of learning and teaching activities aimed at ensuring environmental protection and sustainability were not at the desired level. In this respect, it can be said that participation needs more regulations for implementation even though we have come across participation as a positive situation in outcomes especially in recent years.
The right to life is the second most popular category among the learning outcomes of the curricula. Although this category came after participation, it was included in similar amounts in all the curricula that were examined. The right to life is also the most fundamental element of human rights and can be considered a prerequisite for the realization of all rights. In this sense, it is important that all the Life studies lessons from past to present require children to have the right to life as well as the awareness of living. However, it was found that most of the outcomes were associated with this article, which focused more on the right to rest and leisure, to engage in cultural and recreational activities. It can be said that the right to protection is included in the curricula to a small extent. The outcomes regarding the right to protection were included only in the 2009, 2015, and 2018 curricula. All of these outcomes focus on "prohibition of discrimination", i.e. protecting the child from all kinds of discrimination. Merey (2012) examined the social studies curriculum and concluded that the right to protection was not included at the primary school level. However, the right to protection refers to protection of children from all kinds of neglect and abuse (UNICEF, 2009). In order to achieve this, children need to be more familiar with the contents of their right to protection through courses such as Life studies and Social Studies. An important contribution of the right to protection is towards children who are forced to leave their birthplace for various reasons. It is observed that migrant children who attend educational institutions are also unable to adapt to school or are subjected to ostracizing both because they do not speak Turkish and because of family attitudes (Uzun and Bütün, 2019). The Life studies lesson is an effective lesson that can contribute to adaptation of these children. For this reason, it may be effective to make regulations regarding the Right to Protection category in curricula taking into account both the migration situation in the country and the cases of child abuse. It was concluded that the right to development was included least in the curricula. In this study, the right to development refers to guidance provided for the child's parents, the right of the child to have his/her identity registered and be raised by his/her parents, adoption, special care for disabled children, and raising children in environments that can support healthy development of children. This also includes the right of children to be enabled to develop, informed of their rights, and to receive qualified education. However, the study revealed that children's right to development, including informing them of children's rights, was included only to a small extent.
When the findings of the research were evaluated in general, it was concluded that children's rights began to be included, albeit to a small extent, in Life Studies Curricula with the right to life in 1936. It can be said that the right to participation and development began to take place in curricula since 1948 to a small extent, and that children's rights have become more visible in curricula with the ratification of the CRC since 1998. On the other hand, it was concluded that the 2009 curriculum, which was revised due to the changes made in 2005, was the curriculum that included children's rights most. It can also be said the right to protection began to take place in curricula in 2009. Lastly, although they had a small decrease in the 2015 curriculum, children's rights were included in the 2018 curriculum in a similar amount to the 2009 curriculum. However, results of studies that focus on the practices related to children's rights show that there are some difficulties regarding the reflection of children's rights on education (Kılıç, 2017;Urfalıoğlu, 2019). Moreover, study results indicate that children's rights are a part of education and have many positive effects Howe and Covell (2011) demonstrated that implementing a curriculum based on rights, respect and responsibility increases participation, supports adoption of citizenship values, decreases peer bullying, and creates a more positive school environment. Çarıkçı (2019) determined that curricula containing children's rights raise awareness of children's rights. For this reason, it is important to make children's rights more visible and emphasize them more in curricula. On the other hand, documents on how children's rights will be addressed and reflected in the classroom environment can be prepared or sharing good examples can be supported. In addition, when the data obtained so far is evaluated as a whole, it is observed that categories related to children's rights are concentrated in certain articles. The right to participation, for example, mostly focuses on expressing oneself and sharing opinions freely. This may result in children developing a limited perspective on children's rights. However, there are no outcomes for children's rights or the introduction of the CRC in the 2018 Life Studies Curriculum which is in effect. In this sense, it can be emphasized that special attention should be paid to inclusion of children's rights in curricula with different dimensions during the preparation phase of curricula. Again, when considered in terms of the outcomes, the right to development and the right to protection are ignored compared to other categories. For example, the right to protection in general includes protection from violence and all forms of abuse, but it was included among curriculum outcomes only after 2005 through prohibition of discrimination. Especially the right to protection should be included more comprehensively in curricula.