شبكة المعلومات العربية التربوية

This study aimed at determining the role of social service in activating children’s rights in the Saudi society from the standpoint of male and female social workers. This was determined by identifying the extent of the social worker’s familiarity with the laws and regulations related to children’s rights. It also aimed at identifying the role of social service in activating children’s rights - whether developmental, educational or health rights as well as children’s right to social engagement. Moreover, the study attempted to identify the professional, social and organizational constraints confining the role of social service in activating children’s rights seeking to reach a proposal which helps activating the role of social service in enhancing children’s rights in the Saudi society. The study adopted a descriptive analytical approach. The study sample consisted of a number of male and female social workers who work in primary schools and kindergartens in the city of Riyadh. In addition, a questionnaire was developed as an instrument for data collection. The study reached a number of results, that notably 57.1% of study sample members have never read the articles and the provisions of The International Convention on the Rights of the Child. Obviously, this percentage represented most of the study sample members. Furthermore, the study found that the role of social service in activating children’s developmental rights in the Saudi society is related to developing children’s awareness of the importance of truthfulness, honesty, cooperation, respect for the rights and property of others, respect for their families, their culture and such values. Also, it found that the role of social service in activating children’s right to social engagement is related to developing children’s awareness of their right to participate in the school’s morning gathering, in extracurricular activities executed inside the school and in public activities executed in the community. Moreover, it was found that the role of social service in activating children’s right to education in the Saudi society is related to conducting a follow up on children’s educational true state of affairs in schools, solving the problems of educationally backward students, raising children's awareness of the importance of education, and strengthening the relationship between the students and the teachers. Concerning health, the study found that the role of social service in activating children’s health rights in the Saudi society is related to raising awareness of the need to provide a healthy environment suitable for the child; providing the proper nutrition for children’s growth; and raising awareness of the need to protect children from disease and the importance of giving them the necessary vaccinations. In terms of the professional, social and organizational constraints confining the role of social service in activating children’s rights in Saudi society, the study discovered that the huge and multiple responsibilities and tasks, which social workers at schools have, affect their performance negatively. Other factors that help confining the role of social service include: lack of professional supervision and guidance in the field of human rights; lack of training courses which focus on human rights; and hiring some no specialist staff to carry out the tasks of a social worker at some schools; as well as the limited number of hired specialists compared to the size of the work required to be done in schools; the fact that social workers do not receive any practical training in human rights organizations during undergraduate studies; and, finally, insufficient awareness among the citizens of the importance of childhood phase. Eventually, the study developed a proposal to activate the role of social service in enhancing children's rights in the Saudi society and to define the roles of the social worker and the skills and strategies which social workers can apply with respect to children's rights in order to reach that end. (Published Abstract)