How much Does University Students Know About Child Rights?

Objective: Youth knowledge and point of view about child right must be improved after the childhood period and when moving on to professional life. The aim of this study was to see the child rights (CR) knowledge difference among students between the onset and in the university years. Material and Methods: The cross sectional study was conducted with first and fourth grade students of nine universities in Turkey. The weighted sampling technique was used and 6.038 students were reached; Analyses were performed on answers from 5.221 students. Data were collected under observation using a questionnaire consisting of; sociodemographical features, sentences related to the Convention on the Risks of the Child (CRC) and health, participation and development. SPSS 15.0 was used to analyze the data. Results: In the study, 62.8% were first and 37.2% were fourth grade; 38.3% were attending education faculties, 35.2% faculties of arts and 26.5% medical faculties. The percentage of hearing about CRC was 61.0% in the first and 62.3% in the fourth grade. A lower percentage of faculty of science and arts students had heard of CRC at both first and fourth grades (p<0.05). The place of residence until 14 years of age and hearing about CRC were significantly related at the first grade (p=0.015) but this was not significant at the fourth grade (p=0.189). Conclusion: Evaluation, discussion and knowledge of CR are very important. Parent education on CRC will help children adopt and practice the notion of rights in their lives. Education programs will positively affect university students’ attitudes towards their children.