A Study on Pre-service Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceptions of Children and Rights: Focusing on Project Activities in a Children’s Rights and Welfare Course

Purpose: This study examined how pre-service early childhood teachers’ perceptions of children and rights, changed through project-based learning and what meanings these changes carried. Methods: The participants, were 18 pre-service early childhood teachers enrolled in a course on children’s rights and welfare. They engaged, in ten activities, and data were collected from project reports and reflective journals. The collected data were, categorized through thematic analysis and interpreted using a six-step qualitative analysis procedure. Results:, Participants’ views of children shifted from a positive image to recognizing them as subjects of rights, and their, understanding of rights expanded from abstract concepts to practical aspects of everyday life. Project activities, also supported the development of rights sensitivity and strengthened willingness to act. Conclusion: Project, activities can serve as an educational tool for connecting children’s rights to teachers’ own lives. Thus, teacher, education should move beyond knowledge transmission toward fostering rights sensitivity and practical, responsibility.