A presentation by Dr. Ersa Arcan from the Istanbul University describing how she and her colleagues in 7 universities has adapted a syllabus to embed child rights understanding into journalism practice. Includes week-by-week description of the stand-alone course, evaluation and outputs from the course (from the students and supporting materials).

1. CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AND
JOURNALISM SYLLABUS IN TURKEY
H. ESRA ARCAN PhD
ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY
COMMUNICATION
FACULTY

2. THANKS TO
 UNICEF Geneva and Ankara Offices
 DIT
 Brian O’Neill
 Michael Foley
 Noirin Hayes

3. PREREQUISITIES
 Education of Educators
 Preparing Course Materials
 Localization of the textbook
 Creating and gathering local course materials
 Preparing Syllabus

4. EDUCATION OF EDUCATORS:
CHALLANGES
 LACK of HR CULTURE/DEMOCRACY
 A NEW HR APPROACH for TEACHERS and
STUDENTS
 A NEW METHODOLOGY for TEACHERS
and STUDENTS

5. PREPARING COURSE MATERIALS:1
LOCALIZATION OF THE TEXTBOOK
 CRITICALLY REVIEWING
 of LOCAL LAW
 of PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
 ADDING LOCAL NEWS/STUDY CASES/
SUBJECTS

6. ASPECT of LOCAL LAW of TEXTBOOK
 Scanning national law rules
 Scanning Police Application of Law
 Considering UN CRC Monitoring (Shadow)
Reports

7. ASPECT OF THE LOCAL
PROFFESSIONAL ETHICS OF THE
TEXTBOOK
 Journalism Association of Turkey
 Guidelines for the Media to transform
production and content development process
for the benefit of children

8. ADDING LOCAL NEWS/STUDY CASES/
SUBJECTS TO THE TEXTBOOK
 CRITICAL READING OF NEWS RELATED TO
CHILDREN:
 WRONG NEWS MAKING EXAMPLES
(Stagmatization, Demonization of Children)
 CHILDREN RIGHTS BASED NEWS MAKING
EXAMPLES
 LOCAL SUBJECTS: CHILD BRIDES, STONE
THROWN CHILDREN (Victims of Anti Terror Law),
MINORITY CHILDREN

9. PREPARING COURSE MATERIALS:2
CREATING AND GATHERING LOCAL
COURSE MATERIALS
 Articles by teachers
 Daily Newspapers, Magazines, TV news sets
 Novels and stories
 Movies, documanteries, fotos, visual
materials

10. APPLYING THE SYLLABUS
 7 PARTICIPANTS OF THE PROJECT:
 ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY
 ANADOLU UNIVERSITY
 GAZİ UNIVERSITY
 ANKARA UNIVERSITY
 GALATASARAY UNIVERSITY
 BİLGİ UNIVERSITY
 ISTANBUL AYDIN UNIVERSITY

11. ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY CHILDREN’S
RIGHTS AND JOURNALISM COURSE
SYLLABUS
 3 CREDIT MANDATORY COURSE
 5th SEMESTER
 14 WEEKS/3 HOURS
 THEORETICAL/ PRACTICAL TEACHING

12. COURSE DESCRİPTİON
 This course has been specifically designed
by UNICEF and an academic committee from
Turkey and Ireland to address the needs and
interests of students of journalism in order to
teach children’s rights based journalism
perspective.

13. WEEK 1
 Introduction of Subject, Reading and Course
Requirements
 Liberal and Social approaches to the state,
the rights and the media:.
 News as construction vs. objectivity and
fairness of news
 Reading TB&by Dr. Arcan

14. WEEK 2
 Conceptual and philosophical genesis of
human rights
 Natural Rights (Greek and Roman Thought)
 Human Rights (Enlightenment, Humanism,
and Contemporary HR: after WW II
 Reading: TB&by Dr. Arcan

15. WEEK 3
 Why do children need special Right? State of children around
the world, including Turkey, with UNDP, EU statistics and
cases.
 What are the rights of children? Convention on Children’s
Rights
 Readings: TB&R.Oven-New Society’s related chapter
 Make a classifications of articles in Convention on Children’s
Rights according to Survival- Protection- Development-
Participation Rights Group

16. WEEK 4
 History of children’s rights activism; 19th Century- Britain
 A factory owner: Robert Owen,
 A child worker and journalist: John Doherty,
 A women writer: Frances Trallope and her novel “Michael Armstrong:
A Factory Boy”
 A writer from Turkey: Kemalettin Tuğcu
 Convention on Children’s Rights in the light of history of child labor
 (Survival rights, development rights, and protection rights)
 Reading and Assignment: Read Timur Soykan’s interview with a child
worker and write a paper to compare today’s child labor state to
Owen’s era.

17. WEEK 5
 Children Rights and Media:
 Representation in news: Constructed reality
vs. Objective reality
 Relation between representation and reality
in news
 Stereotyping and
Stigmatization&Demonization of children in
news

18. WEEK 5
 Representation of Child in Media: wrong and right news examples
 Children in conflict with the law: demons and protection rights
 Children who forced to work in streets; poverty and survival-
development rights
 Children who sexually harassed or exploited; femalisation of child and
protection rights
 Children who are a part of cultural activities; good news on
participation rights
 Reading: Course Book
 Assignment: For next class bring news related to children to the class
and make a brief presentation about it according what you learn in
class 4-5

19. WEEK 7
 Midterm visa period

20. WEEK 8
 Student presentation and discussion of news
 CR and Journalism Practice introduction and general
principles
 Info on news monitoring research
 Reading and assignment: Read Course book U2 P1
and Media and Diversity Guideline for Child of TGC.
Read research handout (by E. Arcan) chose your
research teammate and newspaper and inform E.
Arcan.

21. WEEK 9
 IFJ Guidelines for children news
 TGC Media and Diversity Guidelines for Child
 BBC Editorial Principles
 Interviewing with children
 Assignment: Apply to the Hearing and Speech Handicapped
School to make an interview with a student and write news for
IU News Agency. Study on research project.

22. WEEK 10
 Movie: Shame, Dir. Samra Makmalbah
 Special Issues and Child Protection Policies
 Reading: Read course book U2/P2, Can
Dündar: TV and Violance, study on research
project

23. WEEK 11
 Special Issues;
 Reporting on armed/ethnic conflict-child
soldiers,
 Violence, children, media
 Child sex workers
 Assignment: Write a general evaluation for
course no more than 1 page


24. WEEK 12
 Presentation of research results and
discussion

25. WEEK 13
 General Evaluation&Discussion on course

26. WEEK 14
 Final Exam

28. OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT
 BOOKS (Handbook of Media and Children’s
rights)
 CONFERENCES (I. Children’s Rights
Congress of Turkey)
 IU UNIVERSITY for CHILDREN
 CHILDREN NEWSPAPER, NEWS,
DOCUMANTERIES, SHORT MOVIES, as
student projects.

29. IMPACT OF THE PROJECT
 UNMEASURED INFO:
 Graduted students who took the course, as
reporters and editors are more sensitive and
aware of making news related to children.
 Do&do not about news related to children are
more common in media.
 Children’s rights and related ethical issues
are more visible in media.