Investigating Primary School Students’ Perceptions about Democracy through Their Drawings

Main purpose of this study is determining the democracy perspectives of children via their own drawings. For this aim, 217 students (49.3 % girls, 50.7 % boys) who attend school in Sakarya, Hendek were included to study. Research data contains the drawing of children about democracy. As a data gathering tool, a form which has different parts to draw the pictures and to explain them. Content anaylsis was used to analyze data. In conclusion of data analysis, it is understood that students see the democracy as the right to elect and be elected (54.37 %). Apart from this, it is revealed that perspective of students were listed as justice, freedom, national valus, game, responsibility, peace/nature and other themes respectively. When it comes to distribution of the themes depends on the sex, while both boys and girls drew the similar number of pictures on the themes of the right to elected and be elected, justice, national values and games, girls drew more pictures than boys on the themes of freedom and responsibility. If the distribution of the themes on different class levels is analyzed, 3rd grade students drew more pictures than any other graders on the theme of the right to elect and be elected and freedom