E.03. Children’s Rights And Duties As Complementary Elements Of Agency?

The panel offers a space for discussion on the theme of children's rights and duties as complementary elements of agency in educational contexts and democratic societies and of the real exercise of citizenship (Aluffi Pentini 2024). The uncertainty that characterizes educational action today in terms of respect for rules and imperatives challenges us. The transition from authoritarian education to an approach that emphasizes the educator's “duty” to be authoritative, without however defining what elements allow the educator to be so, leads to a widespread crisis. Do educators have the opportunity to be guarantors of contexts based on mutual respect and on the responsibility of the minors who inhabit them? In the face of episodes of violence involving (pre)adolescents Moia 2025), the issue appears relevant. Concepts such as restraining, reward, and punishment, which have not been explored in depth in terms of their social implications, concern both families and an inclusive school model, and take on different meanings when they concern typically developing children or children on the autism spectrum (ABA), and in different cultural contexts. By eliminating authority and duties, how does the idea of respect (for rules, people, things) arise in children? Has the emphasis on children's rights contributed to neglecting the issue of their duties? What possibilities/capabilities do adults have to enforce rules? Presentations that foster interdisciplinary debate on these issues are welcome.