Examination of parents' view on the right to child participation

This study was conducted to develop a valid and reliable child participation scale for parents and to determine the views of parents about the right to child participation. For this purpose, Child Participation Scale including 23 items (CPS), consisting of three sub-dimensions, was developed. The sub-dimensions of the scale were determined as "manipulation in participation", "respect for participation", and "being a stakeholder in participation". The evidence for the validity of the scale was collected by both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis calculated on different samples. McDonald's ω reliability coefficients for the reliability of the scale were calculated and obtained between ω = 0.68 and ω = 0.74. In accordance with the information obtained from the literature, the item pool consisting of 34 items was sent to 4 experts in the field. In accordance with the opinions and suggestions, necessary corrections were made and 5-point Likert type scale including 28 items form was formed. The scale was developed by making validity and reliability analyzes based on the data obtained from 1115 people and then it was applied to 767 parents, 231 (30.1%) males and 536 (69.9%) females in Istanbul in the 2018-2019 academic year. After the validity and reliability analysis of the data collection tool, the data were analyzed according to the sub-problems of the study. In answering the sub-problems in the study, to determine whether there is a significant difference between the groups, a number of the analyses (homogeneity and normality of variance) were tested to determine whether the analysis method to be used in the analysis of the data is a parametric or non-parametric method; furthermore, analysis was performed using parametric (one-way analysis of variance and t-test) or non-parametric analysis methods (Mann Whitney U). As a result of the study, according to parents' gender, it was seen that parents' views on the right to child participation differed significantly on the sub-dimensions of "manipulation in participation" and "being a stakeholder in participation" in favor of women. According to marital status, it was seen that they differed significantly on the sub-dimension of "manipulation in participation". According to their education level, it was found that they differed significantly on the sub-dimension of "manipulation in participatio" in favor of the university graduates. According to the grade level of their children, it was seen that the parents' view of the third grade differed significantly on the sub-dimension of "respect for participation". According to the type of school where children are educated, it was found that the views differed significantly on the sub-dimension of "respect for participation" in favor of those who are in the public school. According to socioeconomic level, the views differed significantly on the sub-dimension of "manipulation in participation" in favor of the group with high socioeconomic level. It has been found that the views of parents about the right to child participation did not differ significantly in terms of participants' age. The findings were discussed and suggestions for new research were included.