Perceptions of Children's Rights in Three Early Childhood Settings

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate perceptions of young children's rights in early childhood settings and contribute to the expanding discourse about children's rights. The research focus canvassed teachers', parents', and young children's perceptions of their rights in early childhood settings: How did they understand children's rights, and what did these perceptions mean for them in the early childhood settings they participated in? A qualitative, interpretive approach to the research generated data through interviews with young children, teachers, and adults, focus groups with the adult participants, and observations of day-to-day life in the three case study centres. The early childhood centres selected represented three mainstream services and included a teacher-led creche for under-two-year-olds, a sessional state, teacher-led kindergarten for three- and four-year-olds, and a parent-led playcentre for mixed ages from birth to six years old. NVIVO, a qualitative data classifying computer program, was used initially to sort and categorise the data alongside more conventional methods for coding categories and identifying emerging themes. The research found that perceptions of children's rights were interwoven, interrelated, and interdependent. Provision rights, protections rights, and participation rights are recognised categories of children's rights. These categories were used to foreground participants' perceptions of rights in particular early childhood settings. Findings suggest that more in-depth awareness of children's rights in early childhood settings would support the development of a children's rights-based pedagogy. This thesis potentially contributes to a growing body of international research about children's rights with a particular focus on the early childhood sector in New Zealand Aotearoa. The contribution that this thesis makes is both theoretical and sociological. It combines sociocultural constructs and ecological perspective with an international human rights convention to understand more clearly what children's rights mean in an early childhood sector. The study of childhood sociology is relatively new and challenges universal definitions of childhood and child. This thesis highlights how different conceptual theoretical ideas intersect with diverse sociological constructs. The broad conclusion drawn by this thesis is that for children to participate fully in their early education, the ethos of the community of practice/learners must explicate what that participation entails in a particular context

The status of children's rights in early childhood education policy 2009

Under the current National-led government the combined effects of a new political agenda and a world-wide recession have resulted in a discernible shift in policy priorities. Using a children’s rights-based lens, this paper considers changes in early childhood policy during 2009 and argues that these shifts impact the integrity of the 10-year early childhood Strategic Plan introduced in 2002. They also put in question whether children’s rights to high-quality early childhood education policy are really taken seriously within the policy arena. The issue of government’s role in providing high quality early childhood services is highlighted as one that derives from children’s citizenship rights. The paper concludes that a new critical ecology of the early childhood sector is emerging which uses a children’s rights perspective to evaluate current policy and envision possible futures

Children's Rights and Early Childhood Policy: Impacts and Influences

A combination of research and policy initiatives in early childhood has resulted in a growing interest in young children’s rights. It is a complex discourse characterised by ambiguous understandings of what children’s rights are. This article discusses some of the main early childhood policies and documents from the mid-1980s until the release of the Strategic Plan (Ministry of Education, 2002), with a focus on children’s rights – a focus that has been, at times, subsumed by other contextual influences, including political and economic agendas. While research findings and policy initiatives now appear to be more aligned, children as citizens with rights are still vulnerable

Children's Rights and Early Childhood Policy: Impacts and Influences

A combination of research and policy initiatives in early childhood has resulted in a growing interest in young children’s rights. It is a complex discourse characterised by ambiguous understandings of what children’s rights are. This article discusses some of the main early childhood policies and documents from the mid-1980s until the release of the Strategic Plan (Ministry of Education, 2002), with a focus on children’s rights – a focus that has been, at times, subsumed by other contextual influences, including political and economic agendas. While research findings and policy initiatives now appear to be more aligned, children as citizens with rights are still vulnerable

Early Childhood Education in 2002: Pathways to the Future

In September 2002, the New Zealand Government released Pathways to the Future: Ngā Huarahi Arataki, its policy statement in support of the ten-year strategic plan for the early childhood education sector. The document identifies three core goals as a focus for government action: increasing participation in quality early childhood education (ECE) services; improving quality of ECE services; and promoting collaborative relationships. This article positions Pathways to the Future within the broader context of recent early childhood policy and current discourse about children and children’s rights. It discusses the policy strategies implemented during 2002 in support of the three core goals of the strategic plan, and reviews gains and remaining challenges

Comparative early childhood education services : international perspectives /

"This edited collection reconceptualizes the place of early childhood education within communities. Contributors present a shift in the lens of the teachers and management within early childhood services to incorporate new ways of working with, alongside, and in collaboration with family, whanau (a Maori term referring to an extended family), and the wider community. "--"This edited international collection reconceptualizes the place of early childhood education and care services (ECEC) within communities, and challenges traditional approaches to family involvement and partnerships in ECEC. Using a range of theoretical positions, the authors present research-based discussions from five countries which challenge existing ECEC discourses of child-centeredness. In this book teachers and a range of professionals working with children together with researchers explore pedagogy in ECEC as sites for building socially just, inclusive, democratic communities which enhance families' sense of belonging, connectedness, resilience and identity"--"This edited collection reconceptualizes the place of early childhood education within communities. Contributors present a shift in the lens of the teachers and management within early childhood services to incorporate new ways of working with, alongside, and in collaboration with family, whanau (a Maori term referring to an extended family), and the wider community. "--"This edited international collection reconceptualizes the place of early childhood education and care services (ECEC) within communities, and challenges traditional approaches to family involvement and partnerships in ECEC. Using a range of theoretical positions, the authors present research-based discussions from five countries which challenge existing ECEC discourses of child-centeredness. In this book teachers and a range of professionals working with children together with researchers explore pedagogy in ECEC as sites for building socially just, inclusive, democratic communities which enhance families' sense of belonging, connectedness, resilience and identity"--Machine generated contents note: -- Introduction--Judith Duncan and Sarah Te One * Building communities: Begins in the early years--Judith Duncan * Working with strengths: Building resilience in communities and families--Robyn Munford * Families and young children in Arizona: Stories from a contextualized statewide study--Beth Blue Swadener, Jamie Joanou, and Dawn Holiday * Beyond heteronormativity: Hospitality as curriculum--Debora Lee * Integrated Services in Australia--Jennifer Sumsion, Fraces Press, and Sandie Wong * Disturbing cultures of incarceration: Resilience, the struggle for normality and the imprisoned family--Rachel Holmes, Liz Jones, and Maggie MacLure * Creating community through connections in SPACE (Supporting Parents Alongside Children's Education)--Sarah Te One and Val Podmore * Active adult participation in early childhood centres: Community well-being--Judith Duncan * Collaborative play as new methodology: Co-constructing knowledge of early child development in The CHILD Project--Hillel Goelman and Jayne Pivik * Conclusion and final comments--Judith Duncan.Includes bibliographical references and index