An effective transition to school occurs when children and families feel a sense of belonging in their new school community, and when this is also recognised by teachers and educators. While various definitions of effective transitions to school exist, this definition provides an especially useful starting point for improving practice. This…

This article demonstrates how implementing a rights-based research methodology can contribute to the theory and practice of climate change research and education with young children. The argument stems from a child rights-based participatory study that sought to explore young children's own perspectives of Nature under the education right, Article…

Front Street Primary School, situated near Gateshead in the north east of England, has been teaching its children about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations. These goals have the power to create a better world by 2030, aiming to end poverty, fight inequality and address the urgent challenge of climate change. The year 2…

Children's right to love is a recognised fundamental human need set down within the 1992 "United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child." This recognition stems from an acknowledgement that the Early Years of Development are emotionally driven (Degotardi, S., & Sweller, N. (2012). Mind-mindedness in infant child-care:…

This paper responds to suggestions that the concept of 'child voice' is under-interrogated in academic and grey literatures. It presents findings from data generated with seven mothers in a small-scale qualitative study about young children's well-being in a low-income area in England. The findings suggest a re-conceptualisation of young children…

This case study analyses the events and debates between 2012 and 2016 leading up to the adoption of a Legal Framework for early childhood development in Brazil, focussing on advocacy efforts of the National Network of Early Childhood (RNPI), while recognising the active roles played by the Brazilian government's legislative and executive powers,…

This paper argues that, because young children's response to the world is primarily sensory and aesthetic, early years curriculum should give due attention to the arts. There is an urgent need to better conceptualise ways of working with young children in relation to the arts. The paper is based on three key and permeating ideas: first, that human…

The present study, guided by a child rights framework, aimed to gain insight into young children's perspectives of their communities and to explore the effectiveness of PhotoVoice methodology during this process. Thirty-two children aged three to five years from a childcare centre and a kindergarten classroom from an urban neighbourhood captured…

This article evidences the existing inter-relations between the rights perspective, the listening approach and participatory research with children, emphasising its contributions to the ECEC research field. Specifically, the contributions of visual participatory research in the field of early years transitions are discussed to illustrate the…

This article focuses on aspects of children's rights as portrayed in television. The results of a six-month research study show analyses of television content of Channel 5, which is the only free-to-air, 24-hour, English-language entertainment channel in Singapore. The results identify the role of television in assisting Singapore to meet its…

This article offers a chronological account and critical appraisal of changes to early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in England over the past 20 years. It describes the policy initiatives, educational interventions and research programmes introduced by successive governments that have effected significant changes to ECEC since 1990.…

Internationally, early childhood care and education policy is increasingly informed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1989). In the Republic of Ireland, the importance of this convention was reflected in the National Children's Strategy (2000), espousing a "whole child perspective". This strategy served…

To mark the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, this edition of "The State of the World's Children" calls for brave and fresh thinking to address age-old problems that still affect the world's most disadvantaged children. The report is inspired by the work of innovators around the world--who are pushing…

"Can You Hear Me? The Right of Young Children to Participate in Decisions Affecting Them" emphasises that participation enhances children's self-esteem and confidence, promotes their overall capacities, produces better outcomes, strengthens understanding of and commitment to democratic processes and protects children more effectively.…