The ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly Article 12 on children's right to participate in matters affecting them, provides a rationale for including the voices of young children when seeking to better understand their lives. Early childhood educators collaborate and converse with young children in their daily…

Although special education advocates have played an essential role in obtaining rights for individuals with disabilities, there is still much unknown about their motivations, challenges, roles, and the meaning they made from their experiences. Research into Saudi parent advocates of children with disabilities and their complex daily life issues…

This article carries out a systematic review of the scientific literature on child participation in the formal education system in Spain between 2010 and 2022. Recognising the importance of child participation in the context of the European Union, the theoretical principles of this study are in line with the perspective that child participation…

This study investigated the experience of families with young children with hearing loss participating in a self-directed funding scheme in Australia. Eleven hearing caregivers, one male, participated in qualitative semi-structured interviews. Analysis was undertaken using a phenomenological inspired thematic analysis approach. Major themes…

Transition refers to the process of change and encompasses the events and experiences that occur when a child moves from one setting to another. It also marks the time when children are separated from a familiar routine and environment and placed into an environment of uncertainty, changing roles and expectations. Transitions are important because…

So much more is known now than a generation ago about how and when brain architecture is built and how deeply it is influenced by early experiences. We know for certain now that the way adult caregivers, parents in particular, interact with children during the first 5 years can actually shape their brain architecture for life--for better and for…

This article highlights the lack of human rights recognition for arguably one of the most vulnerable groups in our society, children and young people in the care of the state. Currently under New Zealand legislation and policy frameworks these children do not have their rights upheld, as per New Zealand's obligations under the United Nations…

Early educators aim to provide high-quality services for children and families. Those services are often helped or harmed by the nature of the political climate at any moment. Currently, there are many critical issues affecting the field at both the state and national levels. The power of early childhood's collective voices and the desire to make…

In this article I discuss my growing worry over the use (and nonuse) of photographs of young children in social research. Taking a view of child protection as paramount, I situate the discussion in the context of ethical governance of research, young children as research participants, changing views of childhoods, and the juxtaposition of the Arts…

The view that children should have a say in and participate in the decision making of matters that affect them is now an accepted position when considering research and policy in the early years. This paper reviews the field of child participation in the Australian context to show that, despite growing evidence of support within policy and…

The Early Childhood Action Network (ECAN) provides an example of successful state systems building in New Mexico. The far-reaching scope of ECAN's coalition and accomplishments identifies promising collaborative leadership practices that have relevance for early childhood leaders in other states. The author describes the accomplishments of ECAN's…

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has during recent decades influenced professionals and policy-makers in Norway as well as in other countries, resulting in changes in documents regulating early childhood institutions. Little is known, however, about the way this right is understood and realized in everyday practice. How is the concept…

This article shares the ways new early childhood teachers carry forward the social justice principles emphasized in their teacher education program into their actual practice. Their participation in a university-sponsored mentoring group served as the context for this study. Through an emergent themes analysis, we explored how they prioritized…

Research Findings: Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), children have the right to express their views on all matters affecting them and to have those views given due weight. This right applies in the context of research; however, examples of young children being engaged as co-researchers remain rare. Practice or…

This paper argues for, and demonstrates the effectiveness of, including young children in commenting on and improving their learning environments. It reports the experiences gathered from of 16 setting-based, small-scale, practitioner-led projects. Taking a view of citizenship as "participation" the paper shows how practitioner-research…