Awareness of Child Rights Laws among School Principals in Oman and its Impact on their Daily Practices

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the degree of awareness of school principals in Oman about the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Omani Children's Law and to determine the impact of this awareness on their daily practices towards children. The population of the study consisted of school principals and assistant principals in five provinces: Muscat, Addakhiliyah, Albatinah, Musandam, and Zafar; where child-friendly school’s initiative was launched as part of the collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the UNESCO Office in Oman. The sample of the study consisted of principals and assistant principals in 48 schools in these five provinces. The results of the study showed that the awareness of the child rights laws had a positive impact on the practices of school principals in general and on the legal, cultural, and political rights of children in particular. The results also indicated a statistically significant difference according to gender in favor of females; while there was no effect based on the type of school. The study endorsed the importance of activating the child-friendly school’s initiative and the necessity of developing the tasks of school principals in the light of child rights laws. Keywords: Child’s rights laws, school principals, child friendly schools