A child rights-based participatory approach to climate education should support children’s authentic and meaningful participationThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) aims to protect and promote the human rights of children. Article 29 of CRC affirms children’s right to education that supports “the development of respect for the natural environment.” Aligned with the aims of the CRC, this child rights-based participatory study sought to explore young children’s perspectives of nature and was based on the understanding that education must acknowledge the rights of learners. The study aimed to demonstrate how the implementation of a rights-based research methodology can advance climate change research and education with preschool children. The researcher presents two central arguments: (1) that implementation of education for sustainable development (ESD) in early childhood education and care (ECEC) must be aligned with the CRC through a child rights-based participatory approach, and (2) that ECEC pedagogy “has many aspects that are mutually reinforcing with authentic child rights-based participatory ESD.”
The study was led by a researcher who was also an experienced ECEC practitioner in an early childhood setting in Ireland. The study’s child rights-based research approach was largely based on the Lundy model, which outlines four features of children’s participatory rights related to space, voice, audience, and influence. This approach aimed to advance children’s rights through each stage and process of the study. The rights-based approach was also informed by CRC standards and aimed to be “grounded in dignity, profound moral respect, and entitlements of children as bearers of human rights.” To accomplish this goal, a Children’s Research Advisory Group (CRAG), comprised of three- to five-year-old children, served “an advisory role to inform the thinking of the adult researcher through their input on each research stage,” including design of the study methods, data collection, analysis and dissemination of findings. The research participant group consisted of younger two- and three-year-old children who were in their first year of preschool. This group was invited to share their perspectives of nature through interactive participatory methods during the data collection. They also helped with the dissemination of research results.
Findings of the study center on seven research strategies, designed with children, that can guide educators in implementing a child rights-based approach to ESD. The first strategy, <em>creating a meaningful listening environment</em>, demonstrates how child participation was supported through the listening space held by the researcher/ECEC practitioner. This space enabled children to co-construct knowledge that was informed by their lived experiences. Such listening helped the researcher/ECEC practitioner view the children as experts in their own lives as part of the second strategy, <em>reconceptualizing the term ‘expertise knowledge.’ </em>This strategy involved learning how to respect children’s expertise without judgment to establish a rights-respecting space. The strategy <em>making time for reflexivity </em>underscores the importance of the researcher/ECEC practitioner’s continuous process of reflection that helped to maintain a commitment to authentic child participation. The child rights-based approach researcher must also aim to <em>maintain an ‘ethical radar’ </em>to identify ethical considerations within the everyday complexities children encounter. The strategy <em>understanding each other </em>highlights the value of continually appraising the researcher’s and children’s understandings to support authentic child participation. <em>Ensuring meaningful participation </em>is a strategy to support young children’s developing capacity to form views when they are provided with meaningful information. Finally, <em>balancing power dynamics</em> is a reflexive practice that is centered upon slowing down to listen to allow children’s forms of knowledge to be acknowledged and included in the research. Based on guidance from children in the CRAG, a revised Lundy model is provided that addresses: (1) space: children must be guaranteed a safe space; (2) voice: children must be supported to speak out and express their views; (3) audience: decision-makers must listen; and (4) influence: decision-makers must take children's views into account in decisions affecting their lives.
The study demonstrates “that with the necessary resources (time, flexibility in research agenda and a listening adult)” young children can “define their own education and participatory rights.” Education aimed at addressing the climate crisis should be grounded in a rights-based approach that ensures respect for and authenticity towards each learner’s lived experience. Rights-based approaches should promote genuine opportunities for children to participate, express their views on issues affecting them, and experience a sense of agency. Listening to, and developing an understanding of, children’s perspectives, while maintaining a cyclical, reflective practice is especially important to a rights-based ESD approach. The research strategies offered by the study may serve as a guide for ECEC practitioners and researchers aiming to support children’s rights for meaningful participation.
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