Laura Lundy, Colette Murray, Kylie Smith, Carmel Ward
In early childhood education many researchers and professionals across the world have embraced the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child's requirement to include young children in decision-making. In the context of ongoing discussion about young children's capacity to share their views and opinions about matters affecting them, there is often a focus on demonstrating ‘evidence’ that young children can participate in decision-making as capable meaning-makers in their own lives, defying traditional paternalistic approaches and assumptions. While acknowledging the important work that has been undertaken to support children's participatory rights, this article seeks to raise questions about whether understanding the right of young children to be heard, particularly in relation to the quality of their education, may have been subject to a form of ‘rights inflation’ that has extended the scope of the application of the right beyond the parameters of the legal framework and/or promoted an interpretation which exceeds what the text of the Convention can bear. In this article, we explore three possible misrepresentations relating to young children's participation in decision-making related to the quality of education: (1) that all children can, should and want to have opportunities to share views on all matters affecting them; (2) that young children should always be allowed to learn and play freely; and (3) that children are the experts in their worlds. We do this to open up a conversation about the limits and partiality of young children's participation when viewed through the lens of children's human rights, highlighting, inter alia, the ongoing need to underscore the role of parents/guardians and professionals in enabling young children to enjoy all of their human rights, including the right to a quality education, fully.
{"title":"Young children's right to be heard on the quality of their education: Addressing potential misunderstandings in the context of early childhood education","authors":"Laura Lundy, Colette Murray, Kylie Smith, Carmel Ward","doi":"10.1002/berj.3968","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3968","url":null,"abstract":"In early childhood education many researchers and professionals across the world have embraced the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child's requirement to include young children in decision-making. In the context of ongoing discussion about young children's capacity to share their views and opinions about matters affecting them, there is often a focus on demonstrating ‘evidence’ that young children can participate in decision-making as capable meaning-makers in their own lives, defying traditional paternalistic approaches and assumptions. While acknowledging the important work that has been undertaken to support children's participatory rights, this article seeks to raise questions about whether understanding the right of young children to be heard, particularly in relation to the quality of their education, may have been subject to a form of ‘rights inflation’ that has extended the scope of the application of the right beyond the parameters of the legal framework and/or promoted an interpretation which exceeds what the text of the Convention can bear. In this article, we explore three possible misrepresentations relating to young children's participation in decision-making related to the quality of education: (1) that all children can, should and want to have opportunities to share views on all matters affecting them; (2) that young children should always be allowed to learn and play freely; and (3) that children are <i>the</i> experts in their worlds. We do this to open up a conversation about the limits and partiality of young children's participation when viewed through the lens of children's human rights, highlighting, inter alia, the ongoing need to underscore the role of parents/guardians and professionals in enabling young children to enjoy all of their human rights, including the right to a quality education, fully.","PeriodicalId":501494,"journal":{"name":"British Educational Research Journal ","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139498790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Laura H. V. Wright, Irene Rizzini, Malibongwe Gwele, Lynn McNair, Cristina Laclette Porto, Marsha Orgill, E. Kay M. Tisdall, Malcolm Bush, Linda Biersteker
Early childhood has increasingly been acknowledged as a vital time for all children. Inclusive and quality education is part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with the further specification that all children have access to quality pre-primary education. As early childhood education (ECE) has expanded worldwide, so have concerns about the quality of ECE provision, including whether its pedagogy is culturally meaningful and contextually appropriate. While these issues are much debated in themselves, often missing is a key stakeholder group for such discussions: young children. Young children have critical insights and perspectives of key importance for ensuring quality ECE. This article addresses how quality ECE can be conceptualised, through reflections on creative and play-based methods with young children, used in a cross-national project titled Safe Inclusive Participative Pedagogy. The article draws on community case studies undertake by two of the country teams in Brazil and South Africa. In contexts where children's participation is not necessarily familiar in ECE settings nor understood by key stakeholders, the fieldwork shows that children can express their views and experiences through using creative and play-based methods. We argue that these methods can become part of a critical pedagogy through ECE settings, where ECE practitioners, children and other key stakeholders engage in ongoing, challenging and transformative dialogue. In turn, critical pedagogy has the potential to strengthen local practices, challenge top-down approach, and foster quality safe, inclusive, participative early years education.
{"title":"Conceptualising quality early childhood education: Learning from young children in Brazil and South Africa through creative and play-based methods","authors":"Laura H. V. Wright, Irene Rizzini, Malibongwe Gwele, Lynn McNair, Cristina Laclette Porto, Marsha Orgill, E. Kay M. Tisdall, Malcolm Bush, Linda Biersteker","doi":"10.1002/berj.3940","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3940","url":null,"abstract":"Early childhood has increasingly been acknowledged as a vital time for all children. Inclusive and quality education is part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with the further specification that all children have access to quality pre-primary education. As early childhood education (ECE) has expanded worldwide, so have concerns about the quality of ECE provision, including whether its pedagogy is culturally meaningful and contextually appropriate. While these issues are much debated in themselves, often missing is a key stakeholder group for such discussions: young children. Young children have critical insights and perspectives of key importance for ensuring quality ECE. This article addresses how quality ECE can be conceptualised, through reflections on creative and play-based methods with young children, used in a cross-national project titled Safe Inclusive Participative Pedagogy. The article draws on community case studies undertake by two of the country teams in Brazil and South Africa. In contexts where children's participation is not necessarily familiar in ECE settings nor understood by key stakeholders, the fieldwork shows that children can express their views and experiences through using creative and play-based methods. We argue that these methods can become part of a critical pedagogy through ECE settings, where ECE practitioners, children and other key stakeholders engage in ongoing, challenging and transformative dialogue. In turn, critical pedagogy has the potential to strengthen local practices, challenge top-down approach, and foster quality safe, inclusive, participative early years education.","PeriodicalId":501494,"journal":{"name":"British Educational Research Journal ","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138563204","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kristín Dýrfjörð, Anna Magnea Hreinsdóttir, Adrijana Visnjic-Jevtic, Alison Clark
Children's relationship with time in preschools is an under-researched area. Young children rarely know how to measure time using a clock, but their experiences of time may contribute to understanding children's well-being and debates about quality in preschools. This paper brings together two empirical exploratory studies conducted in preschools in Iceland and Croatia, respectively, and is based on participatory research methods that highlight young children's perspectives on their sense of time. First, the paper provides examples of young children's understanding of the sequence of events in preschools. Most days were marked by regular routines, such as mealtimes, circle time and outdoor activities. These stepping stones were seen as providing a rhythm for the day. Children's conversations and drawings indicated an embodied sense of time that is subjective, relational and situational. Second, questions have been raised about the impact of different time practices on young children's everyday lives in preschools. In some cases, the management of time appeared to have unintended consequences for factors relating to quality in preschools. Adherence to daily visual schedules could lead to fragmented days with fewer opportunities for uninterrupted play than time management based on ‘flow’. The subjective nature of children's sense of time is complex, and shared understandings between adults and children are not guaranteed. Careful and imaginative listening is required in order to deepen understandings on this topic. This could, in turn, support teachers to further consider the impact on children's daily experiences of preschool when planning based solely on ‘clock time’.
{"title":"Young children's perspectives of time: New directions for co-constructing understandings of quality in ECEC","authors":"Kristín Dýrfjörð, Anna Magnea Hreinsdóttir, Adrijana Visnjic-Jevtic, Alison Clark","doi":"10.1002/berj.3935","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3935","url":null,"abstract":"Children's relationship with time in preschools is an under-researched area. Young children rarely know how to measure time using a clock, but their <i>experiences</i> of time may contribute to understanding children's well-being and debates about quality in preschools. This paper brings together two empirical exploratory studies conducted in preschools in Iceland and Croatia, respectively, and is based on participatory research methods that highlight young children's perspectives on their sense of time. First, the paper provides examples of young children's understanding of the sequence of events in preschools. Most days were marked by regular routines, such as mealtimes, circle time and outdoor activities. These stepping stones were seen as providing a rhythm for the day. Children's conversations and drawings indicated an embodied sense of time that is subjective, relational and situational. Second, questions have been raised about the impact of different time practices on young children's everyday lives in preschools. In some cases, the management of time appeared to have unintended consequences for factors relating to quality in preschools. Adherence to daily visual schedules could lead to fragmented days with fewer opportunities for uninterrupted play than time management based on ‘flow’. The subjective nature of children's sense of time is complex, and shared understandings between adults and children are not guaranteed. Careful and imaginative listening is required in order to deepen understandings on this topic. This could, in turn, support teachers to further consider the impact on children's daily experiences of preschool when planning based solely on ‘clock time’.","PeriodicalId":501494,"journal":{"name":"British Educational Research Journal ","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138535428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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