Children’s Rights in Early Childhood Education
- LAST REVIEWED: 28 February 2017
- LAST MODIFIED: 28 February 2017
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0178
- LAST REVIEWED: 28 February 2017
- LAST MODIFIED: 28 February 2017
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0178
Introduction
Children’s rights in early childhood education have provided a new and different lens for how we view and treat young children. Rights are entitlements that every human being has, that are considered essential for their optimal development (Veerman 1992, cited under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child [UNCRC]). That children are human beings with rights has become recognized since the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (cited under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child [UNCRC]) in 1989. When children’s rights are realized, they are provided with a better quality of life, opportunities for healthy development, and fulfillment of their potential. Children’s rights thinking is transformative, changing the power relations between children, adults, and the state; this is so that children are seen as active subjects rather than the objects of socialization or the chattels of their parents (Tobin 2011, cited under Theoretical Foundations). The UNCRC defines a child as a human being below the age of eighteen. Definitions of early childhood vary in different countries according to the organization of preschool and elementary school systems, but early childhood education is defined here as any center, school, or home-based program catering for the education and care of children up to the age of eight. It is impossible to separate care and education for young children, since caring relationships are an essential influence on children’s learning, so early childhood education includes childcare centers, nursery schools and classes, kindergartens, parent co-operative programs, language immersion centers, Headstart classes, Montessori or Steiner programs, family daycare schemes, and beginning school classrooms. Implementing children’s rights for infants and young children is particularly important since during these early years, children are most vulnerable to rights violations, and they are most able to benefit from their rights being catered for. For example, there is substantial evidence to suggest that children in disadvantaged circumstances achieve much better social and educational outcomes if they have participated in high-quality early childhood education programs (Smith 2015, cited under Early Childhood Policy in a Global Context). This bibliography demonstrates the relevance of the UNCRC for early childhood education, shows the theoretical basis of rights thinking, and focuses on five key areas of children’s rights—education, nondiscrimination, language/culture, participation and curriculum/pedagogy. Finally, it shows how children’s rights have been applied to global early childhood policies and to designing research that is respectful of children’s rights.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
To understand children’s rights, the first prerequisite is to become familiar with the UNCRC. The UNCRC is a wide-ranging treaty that was adopted unanimously by the UN General Assembly in 1989 and applies to children from birth to eighteen years of age. The Great War of 1914–1918 exposed children to widespread suffering, and this was a major impetus for the development of children’s rights (Fass 2011). Early-20th-century pioneers of children’s rights include Ellen Keys, Eglantyne Jebb, and Jan Korczak, who suggested alternative perspectives on childhood and focused on the impact of injustice on children (Veerman 1992). Early conceptualizations of children’s rights tended to focus on welfare, but more recently children’s agency and participation rights have been emphasized (Freeman 2009). The UNCRC was developed by an international UN Working Group that included both welfare and human rights organizations, so the final document reflected a hard-won consensus (Cantwell 2011). The UNCRC has been ratified by 195 countries, including all members of the United Nations except the United States. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child monitors the progress of ratifying countries, who must produce a self-review report after two years, and thereafter every five years. The quality of the data used in UNCRC reporting has, however, been criticized (Ennew 2011). The UN Committee responds to each country’s report with a set of concluding observations. The fifty-four articles of the convention fall into three main categories of rights: provision, protection, and participation. Provision articles refer to the right of children to be provided with health care, education, an appropriate standard of living, family life, and other services. Protection articles state that children must be safe from discrimination, abuse, exploitation, substance abuse, violence, injustice, and conflict. Participation articles refer to children’s civil and political rights, to a name and identity, to be consulted on matters that affect them, to have access to information, to express their views and take part in decisions. United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child 2005 highlights the importance of children’s rights for young children and argues that governments should adopt a positive agenda for early childhood education and shift away from traditional beliefs viewing early childhood as a time for socialization, and urging recognition and respect for children as social actors.
Cantwell, Nigel. 2011. Are children’s rights still human? In The human rights of children: From vision to implementation. Edited by Antonella Invernizzi and Jane Williams, 37–60. Farnham, UK: Ashgate.
The history of the UNCRC shows that individuals from human rights and child welfare-oriented NGOs worked collaboratively in its development but that there are current tensions between a human rights and child rights approach.
Ennew, Judith. 2011. Has research improved the human rights of children? Or have the information needs of the CRC improved data about children? In The human rights of children: From vision to implementation. Edited by Antonella Invernizzi and Jane Williams, 133–158. Farnham, UK: Ashgate.
Criticizes the UNCRC reporting mechanisms and associated research, which has resulted in little improvement, so that nothing is done to improve children’s lives, and poor data is used as a basis for policy development and programming.
Fass, Paula S. 2011. A historical context for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Annals of the American Association of Political and Social Science 633:17–29.
Provides a historical context for the development of the UNCRC, starting during the First World War and Second World War, which exposed children’s vulnerability, forming the basis for a new sentimental attachment to children and the championing of their rights.
Freeman, Michael. 2009. Children’s rights as human rights: Reading the UNCRC. In The Palgrave handbook of childhood studies. Edited by Jens Qvortrup, William A. Corsaro, and Michael-Sebastian Honig, 377–393. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Justifies viewing children’s rights as human rights, since not supporting children’s rights suggests we regard children as less than human. Answers some of the critics of children’s rights and sees the UNCRC as a beginning not final word on children’s rights.
United Nations. 1989. Convention on the Rights of the Child. Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) consists of a Preamble and fifty-four articles, setting out children’s entitlements to the provision of services (such as education), protection from harm (such as abuse), and to participate in society (to have their views heard and acted on).
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. 2005. General comment no 7: Implementing child rights in early childhood. Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations.
This United Nations General Comment documents a day of discussion on children’s rights in early childhood education. It encourages recognition that young children are the holders of rights and that early childhood is a critical time for the realization of rights.
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. 2006. A guide to general comment 7: “Implementing child rights in early childhood”. The Hague: Bernard Van Leer Foundation.
This volume describes the background of the UN Day of General Discussion on child rights in early childhood education. Contains extracts from the approximately three dozen papers that were submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child by diverse organizations, before the discussion.
Veerman, Philip E. 1992. The rights of the child and the changing image of childhood. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Martin Nijhoff.
Contains a comprehensive history of the UNCRC; an account of the contribution of activists like Eglantyne Jebb and Jan Korczak; the founding documents like the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child; and details of the negotiations during the 1980s drafting process.
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Article
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- Action Research in Education
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- Administrator Preparation
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- Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Courses
- Advocacy and Activism in Early Childhood
- African American Racial Identity and Learning
- Alaska Native Education
- Alternative Certification Programs for Educators
- Alternative Schools
- American Indian Education
- Animals in Environmental Education
- Art Education
- Artificial Intelligence and Learning
- Assessing School Leader Effectiveness
- Assessment, Behavioral
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- Beginning-Teacher Induction
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- Blended Learning
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- Citizenship Education
- Civic and Social Engagement of Higher Education
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- Classroom Management
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- Computer-Based Testing
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- Continuous Improvement and "High Leverage" Educational Pro...
- Counseling in Schools
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- Critical Race Theory
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- Distributed Leadership
- Doctoral Education and Training
- Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Denmark
- Early Childhood Education and Development in Mexico
- Early Childhood Education in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Early Childhood Education in Australia
- Early Childhood Education in China
- Early Childhood Education in Europe
- Early Childhood Education in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Early Childhood Education in Sweden
- Early Childhood Education Pedagogy
- Early Childhood Education Policy
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- Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
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- Equity, Ethnicity, Diversity, and Excellence in Education
- Ethical Research with Young Children
- Ethics and Education
- Ethics of Teaching
- Ethnic Studies
- Europe, History of Education in
- Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention
- Family and Community Partnerships in Education
- Family Day Care
- Federal Government Programs and Issues
- Feminization of Labor in Academia
- Finance, Education
- Financial Aid
- Formative Assessment
- Future-Focused Education
- Gender and Achievement
- Gender and Alternative Education
- Gender, Power and Politics in the Academy
- Gender-Based Violence on University Campuses
- Gifted Education
- Girls' Education in the Developing World
- Global Mindedness and Global Citizenship Education
- Global University Rankings
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- Higher Education and the Developing World
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- Higher Education Finance
- Higher Education Governance
- Higher Education Graduate Outcomes and Destinations
- Higher Education in Africa
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- Higher Education Management
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- Higher Education Research
- Higher Education Student Assessment
- High-stakes Testing
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- History of Education in the United States
- History of Technology Integration in Education
- Homeschooling
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- Inclusive Education
- Indigenous Education in a Global Context
- Indigenous Learning Environments
- Indigenous Students in Higher Education in the United Stat...
- Infant and Toddler Pedagogy
- Inservice Teacher Education
- Integrating Art across the Curriculum
- Intelligence
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- Intersectionality and Education
- Knowledge Development in Early Childhood
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- Leadership Training with an Emphasis on the United States
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- Learning Difficulties
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- Legal Matters and Education Law
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- Qualitative Research Design
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- Reliability in Educational Assessments
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- Scaling Up Research-based Educational Practices
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- School Reform
- Schools, Private and Independent
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- Science Education
- Secondary to Postsecondary Transition Issues
- Self-Regulated Learning
- Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices
- Service-Learning
- Severe Disabilities
- Single Salary Schedule
- Single-sex Education
- Single-Subject Research Design
- Social Context of Education
- Social Justice
- Social Network Analysis
- Social Pedagogy
- Social Science and Education Research
- Social Studies Education
- Sociology of Education
- Standards-Based Education
- Statistical Assumptions
- STEM-related Education, Indigenous Science Education and
- Student Access, Equity, and Diversity in Higher Education
- Student Assignment Policy
- Student Engagement in Tertiary Education
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- Student Participation
- Student Voice in Teacher Development
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- Sustainability in Higher Education
- Teacher Beliefs and Epistemologies
- Teacher Collaboration in School Improvement
- Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Effectiveness
- Teacher Preparation
- Teacher Training and Development
- Teacher Unions and Associations
- Teacher-Student Relationships
- Teaching Critical Thinking
- Technologies, Teaching, and Learning in Higher Education
- Technology Education in Early Childhood
- Technology, Educational
- Technology-based Assessment
- The Bologna Process
- The Regulation of Standards in Higher Education
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- Tracking and Detracking
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- Women's and Gender Studies
- Young Children and Spirituality
- Young Children's Learning Dispositions
- Young Children's Working Theories