Children's rights education for ECEC professionals: A critically reflective, transformative model
SHEILA LONG, Institute of Technology Carlow, Ireland
This paper presents the empirical findings of a doctoral study, completed in 2017, which investigated whether, to what extent and in what ways a group of undergraduate students are informed about and understand children’s rights. A common matter of concern in empirical research related to both Human Rights Education and Children's Rights Education is the paucity of explicit theoretical underpinnings (Osler, 2015; Quennerstedt, 2011) This study drew on the children’s rights framework, alongside sociocultural (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and transformational theories of learning (Mezirow, 1991). Located within the interpretivist paradigm, a mixed-method design, utilising questionnaires and focus group discussions, was employed, and findings were analysed both statistically and thematically. In line with ethical guidelines of BERA, the research site and Queen’s University Belfast, particular emphasis was placed on gaining informed consent, and Osler and Starkey’s (2010) rights-based pedagogical principles were adapted for research with students. The study found that an undergraduate education in ECEC was a firm foundation upon which to build students’ understanding of a rights-based approach to the education and care of babies and young children, particularly as Aistear, the curriculum framework for the Republic of Ireland provides a curricular entitlement to children’s rights education from birth to age six, and brings cohesion between Institutes of Higher Education and ECEC settings. However, some challenges and resistances were revealed in relation to power-based adult-child relationships. This paper will expand on a proposed critically reflective, transformative children’s rights education model for ECEC.
Keywords: children's rights education, rights-based approach, initial practitioner education, transformative learning, power and control
