Hong Kong pre-service teachers' attitudes towards and knowledge of children's rights

The Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasizes that the education of the child should be directed to the development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. However, though Hong Kong is a one of the States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the government does not put much emphasis on promoting Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children's rights education is not compulsory in schools or in teacher training institutions in Hong Kong. It is detrimental if teachers do not possess adequate knowledge and positive attitudes towards children's rights as they hold a crucial role in educating children about their rights and nurturing rights-respecting students. Through modifying Rogers and Wrightsman's Children's Rights Attitudes Scale, the present research examined pre-service teachers' attitudes towards children's self-determination rights, nurturance rights, and the conflict between self-determination and nurturance rights, and also their knowledge of children's rights, in order to uncover the areas of improvements.