The juxtaposition of rights and responsibilities: Children’s experiences and perceptions

Rights and responsibilities are enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa but are disregarded in many ways in the education of young children. This article focuses on comparing the experiences and perceptions of Grade 3 children of their rights and responsibilities across diverse school settings. The comparison of data sets highlighted reciprocity in children’s experiences and showed challenges and gaps in children’s education of rights and responsibilities. This research was qualitative in nature, using a multiple case study design with ninety-six (n=96) participating children. Data gathering occurred through interviews, observation, documents, field notes and visual artefacts made by the participating children. The findings were that education firstly advances children’s understanding and knowledge of their rights and responsibilities. Secondly, basic needs of children have a significant effect on their understanding of their rights and responsibilities with the emphasis on rights. Children’s perceptions of their rights and responsibilities were juxtaposed to assist in finding similarities and differences in their perceptions. Thirdly, the participant children understood that people have needs and rights; they communicated that these rights must be recognised to safeguard a sustainable standard of life.


INTRODUCTION
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa enshrines the basic rights of every child irrespective of race, colour or creed in Chapter 2 Section 28 (Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, 1997). Children are viewed as a person under 18 years of age and children have the right to; a name and nationality, be taken care of, food, a home, health care and social services, be protected, not be detained except as a last resort and not to be used in armed conflict. A child's best interests are most important in every matter concerning the child. http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v39.i4.9 Van Aardt, Venketsamy, Thuketana & Joubert The juxtaposition of rights and responsibilities South Africa is a country of many and varied cultures. It can righty be called a world within one nation . Although many highlights, South Africa faces challenges regarding the rights of children. Many children are deprived of their basic rights, which raises alarm bells as a society is weakened when its children are ignorant of and uneducated about their rights (Kosher, Ben-Arieh & Hendelsman, 2017:v). Children ought to have and experience not only their rights but also their responsibilities. It is imperative that they face the responsibility to respect the rights of others as well (Colgan, 2009;Haugli, & Nylund, 2019). Children's rights are a special section of human rights. Human rights relate to children as well as to adults, but children have distinct protection rights because they are defenceless against exploitation and abuse (Abrahams & Matthews, 2011). The historical progress of children's position and rights has been important in the safeguarding and well-being of children, and reviewing these rights advances understanding of the problem under study.
Currently one of the most pertinent questions in education is how children experience and perceive their rights and responsibilities in order to address the identified gaps. Asking children to voice their thoughts regarding their rights and responsibilities should shed light on how they experience these. Abrahams and Matthews (2011:52) state that most South African children do not experience their rights and responsibilities adequately. There are major concerns that influence the experience of their rights. It is increasingly acknowledged that children in South Africa experience abuse, victimisation, exploitation and maltreatment (Leoschut & Kafaar, 2017:81). Pillay (2016:6) confirms that many children in South Africa are often underprivileged, marginalised and discriminated against. Many children's lives are plagued by their needs not being met, defencelessness and the nonexistence of prospects practically in all areas of their lives. The Realization of Children's Rights Index (RCRI) shows that South Africa's children's rights situation reflects "noticeable problems" (Humanium, 2014;Humanium, 2018).
All children have a right to education; this is a vital part of children's rights (Sloth-Nielsen, 2016). This right to education is included in many legal documents worldwide; for example, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNICEF, 1989), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC, 1990), the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Government, 1996), the Bill of Rights (Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, 1997) and so forth. Bazaz (2016) argues that education is the backbone of a country's progress and success, and that education can play a crucial part in realising human and children's rights. When children are educated about their rights and responsibilities, they can make a valuable contribution to their communities and contribute positively as citizens; without equal educational opportunities, only a selected few can fulfil this role and realise their full potential.
The aim of this article is to investigate Grade 3 children's experiences and perceptions of their rights and responsibilities across diverse settings. Two major questions were considered regarding the problem; How do Grade 3 children experience their rights and responsibilities across diverse settings? How do children's experiences of their rights and responsibilities compare across diverse settings?

DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIPS WITH RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The stakeholders in children's rights and responsibilities are the child, parents, guardians, family home, school, peers, community and state. Each stakeholder plays a vital role in the achievement of children knowing and experiencing their rights and being responsible. The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child requires governments to deliver the vital fundamentals required to support parents to take care of their children and to encourage safe and positive environments. The right to safekeeping and to be safe from violence is crucial for human rights to be fulfilled (Jamieson, Richter & Cavoukian, 2017). The state should fulfil, respect, promote and protect all the rights contained in the Bill of Rights (Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, 1997).

EMPOWERMENT WITH RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES THROUGH EDUCATION
While children's rights have been and remain vital to secure satisfactory protection for them, it is imperative to move beyond merely safeguarding children's well-being to empowering them to become guardians of their own lives. Children's rights influence each facet of a child's life, and young children should be actively supported to flourish and achieve their full potential (Bhardwaj, Sambu & Jamieson, 2017).
The theoretical framework employed for the research was created through combining four theories. These combined theories are firstly, Maslow's hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1943) which exposes the rights, experiences and understanding of the children being researched and will assist adults to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges children voice regarding their life-worlds. Especially children from challenging households and environments are escorted from being objects of adult work to being competent, contributing social actors while they become more and more familiar with their rights and these rights play a more pertinent role through the second theory, the sociology of childhood (Corsaro, 2017). Thirdly, the empowerment of the child (Freire, 2018) is caused when adults listen and take to heart what children express and understand about their rights and responsibilities. Furthermore, if they are given the opportunity to solve their own problems without adult intervention, the child is empowered, and this promotes responsibility in children for themselves and others (Corsaro, 2017). Finally the fourth theory, the arch of human rights (UNICEF [PFP], 2014), provides an underpinning for the duty bearer, who creates an environment of education and empowerment for children throughout childhood. These theories perform like gears working well together when there is alignment of these theories and concepts. It becomes a lens through which to view and comprehend children's rights and responsibility experiences.

METHODOLOGY
The research was conducted qualitatively with an interpretive approach in the classroom context. We used the following methods, instruments and data sources, namely prompts and interviews, observations, visual data, photographs and document analysis. Interview schedules, an audio recorder, research journal and fields notes were used as data gathering instruments. The Grade 3 children were requested to present visual media in the form of drawings, collages, rights and responsibility coins and writings entitled, "If I were president…," which the researcher prompted by saying for example, "Make a drawing of your experiences of your rights and responsibilities…". During the individual interviews, open-ended questions about their artefacts were asked for example, "Please tell me about your drawing you made regarding your rights and responsibilities…".
We built a relationship of trust with the children prior to collecting the data. Triangulation of the data occurred by using other sources of information for example, the learners' drawings, interviews and document analysis. Furthermore, the research ensured member checking of the data to avoid misinterpretation and misunderstanding. According to Maree (2015) and Creswell (2014) triangulation can produce high-quality, reputable and rigorous research therefore multiple cases, sources and designs were used to support the positions and findings to ensure the trustworthiness of this study.
As soon as all the data were collected (96 in total), we began to sort and put the data in manageable folders for easy retrieval and reference. Each case was augmented by adding the accompanying artefacts, consent and assent letters. The data analysis process involved three vital sections: Noticing, collecting and reflecting (Maree, 2015). These techniques helped to determine what information belongs together and how similar or different the participating children's experiences were from those of their peers in other schools. Codes and thematic analysis were used to analyse and interpret data that were then subjected to a comparative analysis through juxtaposition to discover similarities and differences (Rule & John, 2011). Data analysis was inductive and based on individual interviews and artefacts created by the participants (Ingleby, 2012;Cohen et al., 2011). The data were analysed by using the thematic approach. Repeated words or phrases emerged from the data that constituted themes (Grbich, 2013:61-62).
The following step was used to analyse individual participants' artefacts. Each artefact was viewed and inspected individually while listening to the accompanying interviews. As the participants discussed and explained their thoughts regarding the experiences and perceptions of their rights and responsibilities expressed through their artefacts, the participant numberdescription was added, the code and the category, which later became the themes. The end result was a set of three maps, one for each school, bearing the codes and categories that helped to establish themes (Joubert et al., 2016).
The research was conducted in three schools from diverse settings. Each school's data set of the Grade 3 children was compared with that of the other schools. http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v39.i4.9  Table 1 below shows the codes that were used to differentiate between participants and their school. [H is the first letter of the school's name and is used to distinguish between the two schools in Quintile 3]

School B; Quintile 3M
[M is the first letter of the school's name and used to differentiate between the two schools in Quintile 3]

School C; Quintile 5 Q5
In the above table it is shown that ninety-six (n=96) Grade 3 children from three different public schools in Limpopo province, South Africa participated in this study. Schools were coded A (Q3H), B (Q3M) and C (Q5). Participants affiliated to each school were coded with P as well as a number with the correlating school's code, for example P11Q3H. Codes and thematic analysis were used to analyse and interpret data that were then subjected to a comparative analysis through juxtaposition (Rule & John, 2011).

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
The participants' perceptions and experiences inspired the themes and sub-themes. Often the participants' understanding of the true meaning of rights and responsibilities overlapped and became muddled when they stated their understanding and perceptions of the concepts. Misperceptions emerged that seemed to have developed due to the children's limited experience and knowledge (Hansen et al., 2017). Children's perceptions were juxtaposed http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v39.i4.9 Van Aardt, Venketsamy, Thuketana & Joubert The juxtaposition of rights and responsibilities with the intention to place the participants' views closely together to find the similarities and differences.
Two main themes emerged from the data analysis. The sub-themes were deliberated and defined in more detail under the two core thematic headings: "My life is my right…" and "My responsibility to take care …" "My life is my right…" was the first theme and mirrors the participating children's experiences of their rights. "My responsibility to take care…" was the second theme and mirrors the participants' consideration of their responsibilities.
Theme 1 "My life is my right…" Theme 1.1. I have the right to be taken care of.
The following extract from the artefact-coin made by P11Q3H shows the written translation made by the assistant researcher (AR). The AR understood Xitsonga, the language in which many of the participating children chose to respond: 2 P11Q3H wrote on their coin of rights and responsibilities in Xitsonga: vanavafane le kuhlayisi wa [Translated: "Children must be cared for"].
P2Q3H was asked to talk about his drawing and responded in Xitsonga. The AR translated: "Children must be protected by parents at home." The following figure is a drawing by P2Q3H showing the understanding this child had of the right to be safe and to be protected. The above drawing represents protection. It is of a mother holding her baby who is safe in her arms with many hearts on the mother and the table resembling love and care. Love and care are especially important for children during the early childhood developmental stage (WHO, 2018). It is during this stage of development that Ericsson refers to as the http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v39.i4.9 Perspectives in Education 2021: 39 (4) "Basic Trust versus Basic Mistrust" (Willock 2018:569). The table has food on it, portraying nourishment. This drawing shows a nurturing and protective environment in which the baby lives (Government, 1996, section 28(1) (c)).
Theme 1.2. I have the right to have fun. P40Q3M said in his interview about the drawing he made: "A child is playing uh with uh ball next to a bicycle."   P7Q3H spoke about their collage and said the following when being interviewed: "It's food … it's a muffin …" AR asked: "What right were you addressing?" P7Q3H answered: "The cake's one (the cake's right/ the right to have cake)" Theme 2. "My responsibility to take care…" Theme 2.1. I have the responsibility to take care of others.
P36Q3M was asked to talk about her artefact-drawing and responded in Xitsonga. The AR translated: "I see a boy pushing his sibling in a wheelchair." The following figure is a drawing made by P36Q3M showing the view and perception this participant had of the responsibility to take care of others with special needs by pushing his sibling's wheelchair. P24Q5 said about her drawing: "My drawing is about keeping the earth clean." AR then asked: "Okay, and how do we keep the earth clean?" P24Q5 answered: "By recycling." The following figure is a drawing made by P24Q5 showing the perception this participant had of the responsibility to take care of the Earth and recycle. The children's participation in this research prompted them to become aware of their rights and responsibilities and they could gain and build their knowledge regarding their rights and responsibilities (Viviers & Lombard, 2013). The young children often mentioned that they enjoyed the artefact creation and were excited to explain what they wanted to say through the artefacts. This was cardinal as it shows that the children's involvement in the research was a positive experience for the participants (Viviers & Lombard, 2013).

COMPARING CASES
The themes and sub-themes that emerged from the data obtained from the three diverse schools were juxtaposed. This juxta positioning provided insight into the similarities and differences in the perceptions children have of their rights and responsibilities (Bray, Adamson & Mason, 2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v39.i4.9 Van Aardt, Venketsamy, Thuketana & Joubert The juxtaposition of rights and responsibilities 6.1 Juxtaposing themes and sub-themes to facilitate comparison Juxtaposition offers an alternative technique to other methodologies in qualitative research, namely, to compare the unknown to the known, according Bereday (1967:171). Juxtaposition combined with theory helps to discover connections in the data. It generates better qualitative analysis with a more defined and strengthened outcome than descriptions or pictures considered in isolation. The following figure portrays children's experiences of their rights through juxtaposing them in a bar chart. It displays whether, how slightly or how strongly the different schools voiced the themes that emerged in the data. The following are the six most prominent children's rights indicated: Having a family; being loved; having food and water; having a home; going to school; playing safely, nicely and well; having a clean house and environment.  The following are the six most prominent children's rights indicated: Having a family; being loved; having food and water; having a home; going to school; playing safely, nicely and well; having a clean house and environment. In all three school settings the three most prominent sub-themes of children's responsibilities were keeping the house clean, cleaning the environment and picking up litter, as well as respecting others.
It seems as if in all three school settings the responsibilities sub-themes mentioned most frequently were similar, but they were mentioned by different numbers of participants. Regarding rights, similarities were evident in respect of having food and water, playing safely, nicely and well, and having a clean house and environment. However, there were marked differences in the number of participants that mentioned other sub-themes. Going to school was a sub-theme frequently mentioned by participants in schools B and C, but not in school A. Having a home was also a sub-theme frequently mentioned by participants in schools B and C, but not in school A. Having money and grants given by Government was a sub-theme frequently mentioned by participants in school C, but not in A and B. Being loved was a subtheme frequently mentioned by participants in school A and B, but not in C. Having a family was a sub-theme commonly mentioned by participants in school B, but not in schools A and C. Making mistakes was a sub-theme commonly mentioned by participants in school A but not in schools B and C.
Taking the themes and sub-themes that emerged across all data sets and data analysis into consideration, it is evident that the experiences of the Grade 3 participant children showed numerous similarities and differences. When using diverse places or settings, full advantage can be taken of what the diversity permits in exploring the scope or universality of a phenomenon (Lobe, Livingstone & Haddon, 2007;Yin, 2017). Considering differences and similarities in the theme, "My life is my right…", the Grade 3 participant children revealed much about having a family, being loved, having food and water, having a home, going to school, playing safely, nicely and well, and living in a clean house and environment. These were the The juxtaposition of rights and responsibilities It seems as if in all three school settings the responsibilities sub-themes mentioned most frequently were similar, but they were mentioned by different numbers of participants.
Regarding rights, similarities were evident in respect of having food and water, playing safely, nicely and well, and having a clean house and environment. However, there were marked differences in the number of participants that mentioned other sub-themes. Going to school was a sub-theme frequently mentioned by participants in schools B and C, but not in school A.
Having a home was also a sub-theme frequently mentioned by participants in schools B and C, strongest, but not the only experiences mentioned. How the participants' experiences of their rights differed or corresponded in the diverse settings is set out in Table 2 below. The rights to having nourishment and playing safely were mentioned at the same frequency by the participants across the three settings. Play is a very central experience for all children and one they have a right to. The experience of a right to education, home and family was different across the settings. School A did not give much attention to these experiences, but participants in schools B and C mentioned them as a strong experience. It appears that the children in school A were not as secure in their family and home life, as these experiences were slight. Furthermore, the education that the participants from school A received did not feature strongly, and therefore they had not been educated positively in this regard.
The experience of being loved was strong in schools A and B and moderate in school C. This implies that the basic right to being loved is a right the participant children experienced. Participants from schools A and C spoke about having a clean living environment, but the participants in school B mentioned it only in passing. Participants in schools A and C seemed to be aware of the importance of having a clean environment. However, the participants in school B did not often mention having a clean living environment, showing a lower awareness.
Participants in school A strongly voiced a right to nourishment, safe play and love as they experienced a lack of these and realised their importance. The experience of a right to education and family was low. Many of these participants were cared for by their grandmothers who usually had very limited resources. The slight mention of a right to having a family shows an overall low experience of having a family. These participants had a negative experience of education.
Participants from School B frequently mentioned a right to nourishment, education, safe play, home, love and family. For these participants a right to nourishment, education and love were more important than for the participants in school A. The frequent mention of their rights points to the fact that they had more positive perceptions, although the right to a clean http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v39.i4.9 Perspectives in Education 2021: 39 (4) living space did not receive much attention in this school compared to the other two settings. Awareness of rights comes through education and/or experiences. The slight mention of having a clean living environment by the participants could result from both education and experience.
Participants in School C frequently mentioned the right to nourishment, education, playing safely, having a home, a clean living space and having a family. These rights were very important to these participants, and they mentioned their experiences of these rights more frequently than participants in school A. The right to being loved received the least attention. Generally, the participants had deeper and more positive experiences of their rights in this school setting. The setting was more affluent, and education on issues such as bullying were prominent.
Regarding differences and similarities in the theme "My responsibility to take care…" the Grade 3 participant children frequently mentioned respect for others, keeping the Earth and environment clean, caring for their home and keeping their home clean. These were the strongest but not the only experiences voiced. How the experiences of participants from the diverse settings corresponded or differed is set out in Table 3 below. In terms of the experience of the theme "My responsibility to take care…" vis-à-vis respecting others, keeping my environment clean and caring for my home, school A's participants voiced their experience of responsibilities more strongly than participants from school B and C. Still, learners from all the schools voiced their responsibilities in some way or another. Participants from school A strongly mentioned the responsibility of respecting others and keeping the home and the environment clean by picking up litter. Participants of school B's experience of responsibilities was mentioned the least in all three settings. Being responsible comes from experience and education, which in turn results from allowing a child to participate and to do things. Adults working with children should allow children to participate and experience responsibilities. Through such opportunity and experience children become increasingly responsible. The participants in this setting might not have been educated or given much opportunity to participate, which would explain why the perception of responsibilities of the participant children from school B were mentioned the least in all three settings.
Viewing the above-mentioned coupled with the findings in the three school settings, it is evident that the participants experienced their rights and responsibilities in varying degrees. The participants had individual experiences and group experiences in their setting. Individually, each participant's experience was personal, and these personal experiences were grouped http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v39.i4.9 Van Aardt, Venketsamy, Thuketana & Joubert The juxtaposition of rights and responsibilities together to tie individual experiences together to form experiences in their setting. Being part of a group impacts the individuals in the group and their experiences in such a setting, for example, through education and when there is a culture of being responsible. It influences a school setting and the children being schooled there. Education either empowers and uplifts children or disempowers them and lets them and communities down. Children's rights and responsibilities are realised when adults − teachers, parents and community members − work together effectively and resourcefully (Calderón, 1999;Penttinen et al., 2020).
This study contributes to the acknowledged domain of rights and responsibilities education by underscoring a gap identified in the literature regarding the education of both rights and responsibilities. The findings of this study are firstly emphasising that education improves children's perceptions and experience of their rights and responsibilities. School C educated its learners through the educational visit by Good News Factory, which demonstrated how to combat bullying and promote good relationships in their school. This equipped the learners with the skills to create a safer and less vulnerable social environment. At school A, the participant children experienced vulnerability due to inadequate education about bullying and the absence of adults. The participants could therefore not report or gain support or assistance to resolve the issue of bullying, leaving them vulnerable and defenceless. Secondly, basic needs have a substantial impact on children's experience of their rights and responsibilities. The participant children experiencing poverty or a lack of resources (such as school B and to a greater degree, school A) had less experience and less understanding of their rights than their more affluent counterparts in school C. Thirdly, the participant children understood that people have needs and rights. They knew that these rights must be acknowledged to ensure quality life.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
Much of the data analysed proved that the participants had positive knowledge of their rights and responsibilities. However, some aspects of their rights and responsibilities were unfamiliar, untrue and unknown. Similarities and differences of the children's experiences across the three diverse school settings were further investigated by juxtaposing and comparing their rights and responsibilities.
The experiences children have of their rights and responsibilities are largely impacted by rights and responsibility education. The Curriculum and Assessment Policy (CAPS) document touches on Manners and responsibilities for Grade 1 on page 32 and Rights and responsibilities for Grade 3 on page 54.
It is recommended that the Department of Education should integrate the various subtopics focusing on rights and responsibilities from the Life Skills Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement into other subjects such as Mathematics and Languages. This would enhance and strengthen learners' understanding of their rights and responsibilities within the school, home and community environment.
The Department of Education, together with the community, could launch competitions across South Africa to promote literary works by young children on their experiences of rights and responsibilities in their schools, communities and county.
Each school should develop or dedicate a wall space in their schools that promotes rights and responsibilities for children. On this wall artworks, poetry, captivating motivating words http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v39.i4.9 2021: 39(4) and phrases could be published. This idea would develop pride as well as highlighting young learners' rights and responsibilities in their environment.

Perspectives in Education
Within the confine of their classrooms, teachers can create occasions for children to voice their thoughts and experiences regarding their right and responsibilities. It is further recommended that teachers be provided with a toolkit that contains educational materials such as songs, poems, stories and other relevant materials to assist them in promoting rights and responsibilities of children in the classrooms.
It is also recommended that the existing academic curriculum can be put in this context and can be enriched by the UNCRC through working towards the goal of improving and promoting children's rights and responsibilities education and society at large. Teachers and adults working with children should have a constant rights and responsibilities awareness to effectively educate children about their right and responsibilities. Effective rights and responsibility education will contribute significantly to the empowerment of each child, school and community.
Viewing children's rights and responsibilities through the lens of the combined theories, starting with Maslow's hierarchy of needs, impoverished settings must first be addressed as soon as possible, only thereafter can we expect children to do higher order thinking. Further, in line with the sociology of childhood, children have the potential to think deeply and we must give recognition to their voices. Children should be empowered and educated regarding their rights and responsibilities as knowledge of these does not occur by itself. Children can make a meaningful contribution to their school, community, country and the world if they are empowered through education regarding their rights and responsibilities.
Through comparing the experiences of Grade 3 children of their rights and responsibilities across diverse school settings, mutuality in children's experiences occur and gaps in children's education of rights and responsibilities improve; basic needs of children have a noteworthy effect on their understanding of their rights and responsibilities; children understand that people have needs and rights that have to be esteemed to safeguard a viable standard of life. Children have the ability to comprehend that they possess the power and the duty to change the world for the better. Building their world through rights and responsibilities education will create a better world for generations to come. http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v39.i4.9 Van Aardt, Venketsamy, Thuketana & Joubert The juxtaposition of rights and responsibilities