In my thesis, I focused on the perspective of students in elementary school. An elementary school is an institution where students spend nine years of their lives. During this period, they grow up, develop and shape their personalities. An elementary school is a place that greatly influences the development of students. In the time I spent in elementary school as a part of my study practice and voluntary work, I was in direct contact with students and I noticed that students do not feel good at school. Life in school is threatening and harmful to them. I also observed how the elementary school does not listen to the voice of its users. That is why I decided to provide the voice of students at school with this research. I was interested in how students are experiencing elementary school, how they feel at school, how much influence they have regarding school activities, what are their relationships with employees and what kind of knowledge or experiences the school offers them as an educational institution.
The research I carried out was qualitative, empirical and explorative. I used a qualitative method including coding in order to analyze the collected data.
Data research shows that students do not feel well at school. Students perceive school as a community primarily because of the belonging to a group of peers. In school, students do not have the possibility for personal growth, or this option is given only to students with good grades. At school, students do not have the ability to affect school activities. Students relationships with employees are perceived as one-wayed or unsafe. Most students experience school as a place where they are exposed to restraining and subordination to employees. In school students provide themselves a feeling of well-being by various activities they have invented in no relation to class lessons.
The results of the research thus showed that there are various similarities between elementary schools and total institutions described by Goffman (1961) and that students at school are victims of institutional violence.
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