A point of conversation referred back to the phone conversation I had with Professor Julia Formosinho in June. Julia mentioned that she firmly believes that for a child rights approach to work it needs to be part of an existing pedagogic approach that at its core is participatory and already sees children as holders of rights, such as practice at:
Reggio Emilia
Pen Green
St Thomas Children’s Centre in Birmingham
Te Whariki,NZ
High Scope (although this is Julia’s least favourite because of the way they are going at the moment)
Julia said it did not matter which approach you choose, but you need to pick one, to be at the core of practice.
This is something Julia already mentioned the first time we talked about my research at the EECERA Conference in Barcelona but in conversation with members of my Professional Working Group, we questioned if it is not more about a setting having a basic quality of provision rather than a particular approach per se (Reggio, Pen Green, Pedagogy-in-Participation), for a rights-based approach to work when introduced? Poor quality settings have so many issues to contend with, such as developing staff knowledge and improving the environment so before there is a solid foundation to build on, getting staff to engage with the concept of rights would possibly be difficult.
Another point discussed was "Fundamental British Values" and how it is not apparent to me why these particular categories have been chosen. It certainly is not based on any data or guidance from the Government. This is why I feel strong in promoting my way of looking at practice as it is what goes on in the setting that guides what rights or values are being promoted or need to be brought to the fore more. Data, not personal opinion or preference, is the deciding factor.
In fact this was one of the issues that came out strongly at the Children, Rights and Childhood Eventin Birmingham (end of June), how opinion was guiding the rights-based approach to practice in the settings, rather than data based on children’s experiences. This really surprised me, and really motivates me to want to put together a module on children’s rights in the early years, to challenge misconceptions and develop a greater understanding of how to engage with rights, which I would love to deliver at CREC.
