The voice of the child in the early years

The rights of the child is formally recognised by organisations across the world through United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).  In their website, Unicef explains:

“The Convention has 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and set out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children everywhere are entitled to. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children can enjoy all their rights.”

This includes giving children a voice on matters that affect them and enabling them to participate as valued members of society.

This is only a guide – to understand the issue more deeply, read around: use the module’s reading list and explore other books nearby.  Read newspapers, journals and use MetSearch to find journal articles.  Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Books – Find in MetSearch.

To help you find books in the library – select ‘Search the library catalogue‘ from the drop down menu.

1 Rethinking children’s rights (2010) Phil Jones et. al – see chapter 4 on children’s voice. Find it on the shelves – 323.352/JON

2 Children rights in practice (2011): Phil Jones et. al. Find it on the shelves 323.352/JON. It is also available as an e-book. 

3 Children: rights and practice: David Archard (2015). Find it on the shelves 305.23/ARC. 

4 Engaging pupil voice to ensure that every child matters by Rita Cheminais (2008). Find it on the shelves 371.207/CHE

5. Childhood in society for the early years by Rory McDowall Clark (2013). Find it on the shelves 305.21/MCD

6 Children as philosophers learning through enquiry and dialogue in the primary classroom by Joanna Haynes (2008). Find it on the shelves 372.019/HAY

Books – browse the shelves

Look for the following class numbers.

323.352 – Children’s rights

305.23 – Child development within context of society/culture

155.4 – Child development within context of psychology

372.21 – Early years education

Journal articles

Fowler, Angela et al. (May 2016) Supporting Children’s Understanding and Articulation of Rights: Helping Children Find Their Voice. Childhood Education, vol 92 (3), p184-188

Pascal, Christine and Bertram, Tony (2009) Listening to young citizens: the struggle to make real a participatory paradigm in research with young children, European Early Childhood Research Journal, Vol 17 (2), p249-262

Nutbrown, Cathy and Clough, Peter (Jan 2010) Citizenship and inclusion in the early years: understanding and responding to children’s perspectives on ‘belonging’. International Journal of Early Years Education, p191-206

Listening to children’s perspectives improving quality of provision in early years – government report from 2010

Useful websites

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

Participation Works Partnership list of resources

Young Children’s Voices Network from NCB (National Children’s Bureau)