‘Can we see our voices?’ Young children’s own contributions to authentic child participation as a pillar for sustainability under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

Abstract

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 29 1 (e) of the UNCRC. The study took place over nine-months in an early childhood setting in Ireland. It illustrated that with the necessary resources (time, flexibility in research agenda and a listening adult) children define their own education and participatory rights. Drawing on these insights, and integrating scholarship from children’s rights, early childhood pedagogy, and education for sustainable development (ESD), this article advocates for a methodological approach to climate research and education that foregrounds children’s agency. I argue that children must be positioned as rights-holders within their educational settings and have their views heard and included in curriculum making. I also argue, in virtue of listening within it, that early childhood (EC) pedagogy mutually reinforces authentic child participation. I offer seven key strategies designed with the participants that could be adopted by practitioners wishing to engage in a child rights-based ESD approach; creating a meaningful listening environment, reconceptualising the term ‘expertise knowledge’, taking time for ongoing reflexivity, maintaining an ‘ethical radar’, understanding each other, ensuring meaningful participation, and balancing power dynamics.