Opinions of Secondary School Students on the Effects of Disciplinary Regulations and Practices on the Freedom of Thought and Expression

Problem Statement: Disciplinary rules are necessary for students to benefit from education and training activities without any problems or shortcomings in the school environment. Governed by a regulation in Turkey, these rules prescribe such penalties as reprimand, short-term suspension, changing of schools or exclusion from formal education institutions. On the other hand, various national or international legal arrangements define children's fundamental rights and freedoms. Students below the age of 18 are also entitled to fundamental rights and freedoms by reason of such legal arrangements. One of these arrangements recognise the freedom of thought and expression. The children's/students' freedom of thought and expression within the school environment, as well as the limitations thereof, are of a disputed nature. In the light of such disputes, the problem addressed by the present study concerns the evaluation of the effects of disciplinary regulations and practices on students' freedom of thought and expression in line with students' own opinions. Purpose of Study: The present study aims to identify how secondary school students consider the freedom of thought and expression within the context of disciplinary regulations and practices. Methods: The study is a qualitative study designed and implemented in a phenomenological pattern. The sample of the study was composed, in line with the maximum diversity sampling technique, of 15 students from amongst all students enrolled at general public and private secondary education institutions located in the central districts of the province of Ankara. 15 students were interviewed face-to-face in accordance with the semi-structured interview forms. The interviews were recorded on paper and made subject to content analysis. The analysis categories (themes) were defined, in parallel with the objective of the study, as the evaluation of disciplinary regulations and practices applied to students in secondary schools within the dimension of the "Freedom of Thought and Expression". The subcategories were identified with the inductive method during the analyses. Findings and Results: The opinions of students on the freedom of thought and expression were collected in the categories of "speech" and "participation". The opinions of students on such practices as hanging banners, distributing brochures and leaflets, printing newspapers or magazines or wearing pins and armbands, etc. for educational purposes in schools were a