Enhancing Future Teachers' Professional Competencies Through Children's Rights Education

The paper presents research on the hypothesis that by deepening their understanding of children's rights, future specialists with a pedagogical focus will significantly improve their abilities in a practical environment. The aims of the study such as the rights of the child and its place in the current educational system in Bulgaria are presented. Students from different pedagogical specialties are objects of the study. Questions from a two-part survey are described where the first part contains questions concerning the students’ awareness of children’s rights and the second part focuses on the acquired and expanded knowledge as well as its practical application. The analysis of the results shows that knowledge about children’s rights is a crucial part of the professional competencies of specialists with a pedagogical focus and has a positive influence on their abilities to teach children in a practical environment. Acquaintance with the present research would be extremely beneficial for anyone wishing to improve their practical skills in working with children.