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Project title

Listening to the voices of young children in education for climate action: a child rights-based, participatory study under Article 29 1(e) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Primary Funding Agency

Irish Research Council

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

n/a

Lead Organisation

South East Technological University (SETU)

Lead Applicant

n/a

Project Abstract

This research will explore with young children their own perspectives and lived experiences of Nature under Article 29 1 (e) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and will build the capacity of early childhood educators (ECE) to integrate child rights-based education for sustainable development/climate change education (ESD/CCE) into early childhood settings.The first of these aims was achieved during iteration 1 that took place over a 6-month period in 2019/20 with a group of children (2-4 years) working alongside the adult researcher. The children provided deep insights into how ESD/CCE might be achieved in early childhood contexts. The findings stressed the importance of understanding the local culture in supporting children to define their own education and participatory rights. Equally significant was the interdependent role of familiar adults, in this case ECE educators, in eliciting the children�s contributions. Methodologically, iteration 1 drew on the rights-based Lundy model (2007) according to which the views that children express must also be given due audience and have influence over decision making on matters that affect them. This will be achieved in iteration 2 which will involve participatory action research with a group of early childhood educators who will collectively build on the insights developed during iteration 1 to implement and reflect upon child-rights based ESD/CCE in their settings. Data will be collected by means of focus group discussions and practitioner reflections as well as through practice materials such as photos, scrapbooks etc. The research will address an identified deficit within the ECE sector, whose work on child-rights based education remains under resourced. By developing sector-appropriate, child-rights based educational strategies for ESD/CCE, it will also support the realisation of Action 170 of Ireland�s Climate Action Plan which commits to resourcing our educational sectors for the promotion of climate action (DECC, 2019).

Grant Approved

�25,750.00

Research Hub

n/a

Research Theme

Ireland's Future Climate, its Impacts, and Adaptation Options

Start Date

01/09/2022

Initial Projected Completion Date

31/08/2023