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A 'Significant Events Approach to Children's Rights' with Children under Three in Early Childhood Education and Care

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Title: A 'Significant Events Approach to Children's Rights' with Children under Three in Early Childhood Education and Care
Language: English
Authors: Aline Cole-Albäck, Chris Pascal, Tony Bertram
Source: European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. 2025 33(1):67-81.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 15
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Children, Childrens Rights, Treaties, International Law, Toddlers, Early Childhood Education, Child Care, Naturalistic Observation, Play, Self Expression, Child Health, Child Safety
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom (England), Finland
Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers: United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
DOI: 10.1080/1350293X.2024.2334873
ISSN: 1350-293X
1752-1807
Abstract: The "UN Convention on the Rights of the Child" is one of the most widely-ratified human rights treaties, yet the visibility of children in the early years, in the mandatory government reports to the "UN Committee on the Rights of the Child" and in the Committee's concluding observations to States Parties, is relatively low (Lundy, 2020, "Implementing the Rights of Young Children: An Assessment of the Impact of General Comment No. 7 on Law and Policy on a Global Scale," In "Routledge International Handbook of Young Children's Rights," edited by J. Murray, B. B. Swadener, and K. Smith, 15-29, London: Routledge). This paper sets out an innovative approach to record and analyse rights-based practice with young children, which focuses on significant events in a child's daily life that could help raise the visibility of children in the early years as rights holders. The analysis of 75 h of participant observations across two settings in England and two in Finland, involving 16 two-year-old children, revealed that there were five rights that cut across the two countries and related to all children. The study found that having a way of recording rights-based practice is important if we wish to support all children, in learning about, experiencing, and exercising their rights, so that they can have an impact on pedagogical practice and thus influence their own lives in ECEC.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1458177
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0182326428;h3h01feb.25;2025Jan22.04:17;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0182326428-1">A Significant Events Approach to Children's Rights with children under three in early childhood education and care </title> <p>The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is one of the most widely-ratified human rights treaties, yet the visibility of children in the early years, in the mandatory government reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and in the Committee's concluding observations to States Parties, is relatively low (Lundy, 2020, "Implementing the Rights of Young Children: An Assessment of the Impact of General Comment No. 7 on Law and Policy on a Global Scale," In Routledge International Handbook of Young Children's Rights, edited by J. Murray, B. B. Swadener, and K. Smith, 15–29, London: Routledge). This paper sets out an innovative approach to record and analyse rights-based practice with young children, which focuses on significant events in a child's daily life that could help raise the visibility of children in the early years as rights holders. The analysis of 75 h of participant observations across two settings in England and two in Finland, involving 16 two-year-old children, revealed that there were five rights that cut across the two countries and related to all children. The study found that having a way of recording rights-based practice is important if we wish to support all children, in learning about, experiencing, and exercising their rights, so that they can have an impact on pedagogical practice and thus influence their own lives in ECEC.</p> <p>Keywords: Children's rights; UNCRC; significant events; under three; ECEC</p> <hd id="AN0182326428-2">Introduction</hd> <p>All States Parties that have ratified, given formal consent to be bound to the <emph>UN Convention on the Rights of the Child</emph> (UNCRC) (UN [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref1">57</reflink>]), are obliged to submit regular reports to the <emph>UN Committee on the Rights of the Child</emph> (the Committee) on how children's rights are being implemented in their country. The visibility of children in the early years in these government reports to the Committee, and in the Committee's concluding observations to States Parties, is relatively low according to a documentary analysis of 22 countries carried out by Lundy ([<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref2">40</reflink>]). Since the primary enforcement mechanism of the Committee is this reporting mechanism, the extent to which children's rights in early childhood are addressed is important. The identified lack of visibility of young children's rights in law, public policy and Committee reports is striking according to Lundy ([<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref3">40</reflink>]), and by extension, reflects the equivalent lack of visibility of children's rights in early childhood education and care (ECEC) in general. That being said, data informing this paper from a qualitative transnational doctoral study (Cole-Albäck [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref4">9</reflink>]) showed that the UNCRC and rights language was evident in policy documents and early years curricula in England and Finland (Children Act [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref5">6</reflink>]; DfE [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref6">13</reflink>]; Early Education [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref7">14</reflink>]; Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref8">43</reflink>]; Utbildningsstyrelsen [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref9">58</reflink>]) albeit referred to from their different political and socio-cultural perspectives. Reference to children's rights and the UNCRC is also evident in more recently published documents in both countries (Early Education [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref10">15</reflink>]; Utbildningsstyrelsen [<reflink idref="bib59" id="ref11">59</reflink>]). However, the study showed that there was still a gap between policy, guidance and practice. To help bridge this gap, the Cole-Albäck set out to develop a rights-based approach to researching and working with children in early childhood. Because much rights-based research to date has been with verbal children (Quennerstedt [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref12">45</reflink>]), the child perspective (Sommer, Pramling Samuelsson, and Hundeide [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref13">48</reflink>]) of interest to this study was that of children who do not primarily use language to communicate. This paper presents an observational approach, the <emph>Significant Events Approach to Children's Rights</emph>, for early childhood researchers and educators (any adult trained to work with children before compulsory education) as a way of recording and analysing children's daily experiences from a rights-based perspective by noting children's interests, priorities and concerns as expressed in their strong emotions. Children's emotions are rated using the Leuven well-being scale (Laevers et al. [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref14">35</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref15">36</reflink>]) and mapped against the 42 substantive Articles of the UNCRC.</p> <p>The <emph>Significant Events Approach to Children's Rights</emph>, and the rationale behind it, is introduced in the first part of this paper and in the second part, findings from using this approach are illustrated through five children's experiences, and how they relate to corresponding rights, or Articles of the UNCRC. This rights-based approach could lay the foundation for supporting young children in learning about, experiencing, and exercising their rights, and in that process have an impact on pedagogical practice. This is based on the premise that children's rights as expressed in the UNCRC, and the image it conveys of the child as an active agent with their own universal needs as expressed in rights, is something desirable (Cole-Albäck [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref16">9</reflink>]; Freeman [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref17">22</reflink>]; Verhellen [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref18">61</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0182326428-3">Part I</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0182326428-4">Theory and literature</hd> <p>The theoretical foundation of this research is rights theory that places children's rights as a sub-set of human rights. It is in line with the interest theory of rights as put forward by Freeman ([<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref19">20</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref20">21</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref21">22</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref22">23</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref23">24</reflink>]) that combines protection and autonomy, protecting children <emph>and</emph> their rights (Freeman [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref24">21</reflink>]). It is a balancing act between acting with a degree of paternalism, as children need protection from harm, yet respecting children's autonomy or right to participation and freedom of expression in research and practice, including children who do not primarily express themselves using language.</p> <p>Much research on children's rights in early childhood to date has been with verbal children (Bae [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref25">1</reflink>]; Covell and Howe [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref26">11</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref27">12</reflink>]; Mayne, Howitt, and Rennie [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref28">41</reflink>]; Sebba and Robinson [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref29">46</reflink>]; UNICEF UK [<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref30">56</reflink>]) and falls under the participation discourse of <emph>listening</emph> to children or <emph>giving children a voice</emph>. Cole-Albäck has argued elsewhere ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref31">8</reflink>]), as have others, that the <emph>listening</emph> or <emph>voice</emph> metaphors risk excluding children who have limited or developing language skills (Komulainen [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref32">34</reflink>]; Quennerstedt [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref33">45</reflink>]; Tisdall [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref34">53</reflink>]). There is therefore a need to expand on how children's lived experiences of rights are explored in ECEC, especially with children under three, that is still an under researched area (Quennerstedt [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref35">45</reflink>]; UNICEF [<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref36">55</reflink>]). Guard ([<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref37">28</reflink>]) also suggests we need to reconceptualise the way in which young children's voices can be seen or observed, heard, and acknowledged in settings. Quennerstedt's ([<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref38">45</reflink>]) study with children aged 1–3, conducted in a Swedish preschool, recognised that children's meaning-making was observable in their actions, and provided valuable first-hand information on how children enacted their rights in their setting. Kalliala ([<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref39">33</reflink>]) also uses observations of children's actions as first-hand information when researching children under the age of three.</p> <p>Hedegaard and Fleer's ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref40">31</reflink>], 19) suggest that with young children, 'the easiest way to understand a child's intention is to note when there is a conflict where the child cannot do what he or she wants to do', in other words, note 'the conflicts between the child's intentions and what he or she is unable to realise' in order to understand what is of interest, priority or concern to the child. Cole-Albäck ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref41">9</reflink>]) proposes that by the same token, noting a child's expression of great satisfaction, enjoyment, enthusiasm, and contentment is also a way for understanding a child's intentions and interests. These emotionally charged positive or negative experiences Cole-Albäck calls <emph>Significant Events</emph>. This concept is based on Webster and Mertova's ([<reflink idref="bib62" id="ref42">62</reflink>]) adaptation of Flanagan's ([<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref43">19</reflink>]) <emph>Critical Incident Technique</emph> (CIT). The CIT was originally an approach developed for collecting, analysing and classifying observations for solving practical problems in the Aviation Psychology Program of the United States Army Air Forces (Flanagan [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref44">19</reflink>]). Critical incidents were defined by Flanagan ([<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref45">19</reflink>], 338) as 'extreme behaviour, either outstandingly effective or ineffective with respect to attaining the general aims of the activity'. The CIT has since the 1950s been adapted and used in a variety of contexts (Gremler [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref46">27</reflink>]; Spencer-Oatey [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref47">49</reflink>]). In Cole-Albäck's ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref48">9</reflink>], 117) doctoral research referred to in this paper, a critical incident is called a <emph>Significant Event</emph> and defined as:</p> <p>An unplanned and unanticipated event that has strong emotional involvement (positive or negative), and in retrospect has an impact on understanding an issue or social phenomenon.</p> <p>Cole-Albäck ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref49">9</reflink>], 117) explains: 'events can be explored and interpreted on an individual level, or explored and interpreted at a group level, looking at a setting as a social unit'. In both cases, the well-established Leuven 5-point well-being scale (Laevers et al. [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref50">35</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref51">36</reflink>]) is used to note children's emotional state (positive or negative) with a focus on the high (<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref52">5</reflink>) and low (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref53">1</reflink>) scores on the scale, as examples of what Flanagan defined as 'extreme behaviour', and in line with the definition of <emph>Significant Events</emph> above. Children's behaviour is seen as an indication of what is important to them, especially children who do not primarily use language to communicate. The identified events are then mapped against the substantive Articles of the UNCRC, to identify what rights are possibly being challenged or respected. The scale is described in more detail under <emph>Instrument protocol</emph>.</p> <p>Important to note is that although there is a growing recognition in the literature that well-being and children's rights overlap and have much in common (Lloyd and Emerson [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref54">38</reflink>]; Lundy [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref55">39</reflink>]; Tisdall [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref56">54</reflink>]), the UNCRC is the underlying framework in this approach, with its grounding in human rights theory and accountability, not well-being per se. Children's well-being is used as a <emph>barometer</emph> or lens, not as a conceptual framework as, for instance, in the work of Bradshaw, Hoelscher, and Richardson ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref57">3</reflink>]) and Ben-Arieh et al. ([<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref58">2</reflink>]) whose focus is on monitor and quantifying well-being and children's living conditions. Well-being is as such the catalyst for rights-based conversations. Although Tisdall ([<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref59">54</reflink>]) sees tension between the two discourses I prefer to, 'think of the two as running in tandem with each other', as expressed by Emeritus Professor Freeman ([<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref60">25</reflink>], 347) who considers all substantive Articles to be about well-being.</p> <p>Noting and reflecting on what the triggers are behind <emph>Significant Events</emph>, without having to rely on language alone, is most relevant when exploring children's rights with children under the age of three (Cole-Albäck [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref61">9</reflink>]). What needs to be emphasised though is that this observational approach is not suggesting researchers or educators try to work out what children are thinking and feeling. It is about acknowledging that non-verbal communication or body language such as facial expressions, gestures, posture, eye gaze, and non-verbal vocal sounds are means for trying to understand and make sense of young children's experiences (Cole-Albäck [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref62">9</reflink>]; Kalliala [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref63">33</reflink>]; Quennerstedt [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref64">45</reflink>]). Researchers or educators <emph>listen</emph> and <emph>notice</emph>, taking what Sommer, Pramling Samuelsson, and Hundeide ([<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref65">48</reflink>], iv) call a 'child perspective', as opposed to a 'child's perspective' which involves listening to a child's own verbal accounts of their experiences. Elwick et al. ([<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref66">18</reflink>]) caution that if an observational approach is adopted, where adults rely on non-verbal expressions and behaviour for making sense of children's experiences that, researchers and educators need to recognise the difficulty of knowing with any certainty how very young children experience their worlds, as the adult has to draw on their own personal knowledge and theoretical understanding when constructing plausible interpretations. This may be seen as a limitation to observational tools; however, if we acknowledge, as Elwick and colleagues suggest, that there will always be an inherent uncertainty in interpreting observations, but we interpret them with <emph>pedagogical tact and sensitivity</emph> (van Manen [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref67">60</reflink>]), then using an approach in line with the one outlined in this paper is credible. This rights-based approach encourages researchers and educators to <emph>listen</emph>, in line with <bold>Article 12</bold> and a child's right to have their views heard and their views being given due weight, and to <emph>notice</emph>, in line with <bold>Article 13</bold> that acknowledges children's right to express themselves in any media of their choice.</p> <hd id="AN0182326428-5">Research design</hd> <p>The aim of Cole-Albäck's [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref68">9</reflink>] doctoral research was to theorise the concept of <emph>child rights pedagogy</emph> within the larger human rights discourse and to link it to young children's experiences of rights in ECEC. This was done using a structured qualitative case study approach (Stake [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref69">52</reflink>]). Collecting primary data was important to get a contextual in-depth understanding of children's experiences of rights that is not always evident in reports, such as country reports to the <emph>Committee</emph> (OHCHR [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref70">42</reflink>]). The aim of this paper is to focus on one aspect of that research, to present the instrument developed that can be used by researchers and educators to document and evaluate the expression of children's rights in provision for young children.</p> <hd id="AN0182326428-6">Participants</hd> <p>Four settings (provision for children before compulsory education) took part in the research, one rural and one urban in each of the countries, with 11 educators and 16 children in total participating. The ten boys and six girls were aged between 25 and 35 months. There were no children with identified special educational needs or disabilities. Observational data from these settings informed the development of the <emph>Significant Events Approach to Children's Rights</emph> instrument described below. Because data revealed that there were five rights that related to all 16 children, the five Articles will be discussed in more detail below, using five children's experiences following the extreme case sampling rationale (Patton [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref71">44</reflink>]), to illustrate the significance of each of the Articles to children under three.</p> <hd id="AN0182326428-7">Ethical considerations</hd> <p>Ethical approval was granted by the university ethics committee for the original study and, as published elsewhere (Cole-Albäck [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref72">8</reflink>]), a 4-stage rights-based framework evolved in the course of that study, initially for self-reflection and eventually developed into a tool that can be used by researchers and educators independent of the original study. Points that were considered were linked to various Articles of the UNCRC. The first stage, the introduction stage addressed a child's right to be given time to develop trust and familiarise themselves with the researcher and their tools. The access stage reflected on equity of access. The third stage, the process stage, focused on on-going assent and dissent and a researcher's duty of care. The children were always reminded they had the right to say no. The sentence: 'You can say no or stop', to being observed, filmed or being asked questions, was used. Implicit non-verbal agreement or dissent was also recognised by noting facial expression and body language. The fourth and final completion stage was about member checking, feedback and dissemination. Member checking with the children was done by showing notes and audio-visual footage for verbal and non-verbal feedback, taking note of tone of voice and facial expressions of approval or disapproval, as well as dissonance between spoken words and non-verbal expressions. These ethical considerations are equally important when using the <emph>Significant Events Approach</emph> independent of the original study.</p> <hd id="AN0182326428-8">The instrument</hd> <p>Recognising as Carr and Lee ([<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref73">4</reflink>]) and Clark, McQuail, and Moss ([<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref74">7</reflink>], 30) do, that 'there is a strong tradition of observation within early years education as a tool for understanding young children's abilities, needs and interests', especially with children under the age of thee (Elfer and Selleck [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref75">17</reflink>]), the <emph>Significant Events Approach to Children's Rights</emph> is of particular value when observing children who do not primarily communicate using language.</p> <p>The sequence of the analysis process in this approach is designed to be quite straightforward. A template was created for recording observations and initial analysis. It is structured in 4 columns, see Table 1.</p> <p>Table 1. Example of observation.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><td>Time</td><td>Observations</td><td>G</td><td>WB</td><td>P's and A's</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>9:50</td><td><bold>Bella</bold> is using scissors and a knife to cut the playdough. <bold>Jessica</bold> has her hand on Jimi's knee, leaning on him while making a snowman (she loves 'Frozen'). She rolls playdough into a ball in her hand, singing a song from 'Frozen' to Jimi. She climbs onto his lap and Jimi gives her a cuddle. She screeches with pleasure.</td><td>WA</td><td char="."><bold>5</bold></td><td>Provision Article 29.1(a) Protection Article 3.3 Participation Article 13</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>The observer makes note of:</p> <p></p> <p>• Time.</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> Observations.</item> <p></p> <item> Grouping (G): a child alone (A), with another child (P) or with an adult (WA), in a small group (SG) or whole group (WG).</item> <p></p> <item> Well-being score (WB) (1–5). A score of 1 indicates children are having a difficult time. They are anxious and unhappy. A score of 2 is similar to 1 but less intense. A score of 3 is given when children are neither happy nor unhappy. A score of 4 is similar to 5 but less intense, and a score of 5 is given when children are happy and are enjoying themselves, in other words, feel like 'fish in water'.</item> <p></p> <item> P's. The 3P's classification is widely used to categorise or subdivide children's rights: provision (of basic needs), protection (from harmful acts or practices), and participation (in decisions affecting one's own life) (Freeman [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref76">25</reflink>]; Hammarberg [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref77">29</reflink>]; Verhellen [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref78">61</reflink>]). It is a way of grouping children's rights or pedagogical tool for ease of understanding.</item> <p></p> <item> Article (A). Identified substantive Article of the UNCRC.</item> </ulist> <p>After the initial analysis, see Figure 1 for an illustration of the process, the emotionally charged experiences identified as (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref79">1</reflink>) and (<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref80">5</reflink>) on the observation sheet are highlighted for further analysis and interpretation, and for promoting rights-based professional reflections and conversations in an early childhood setting. The interpretation of five children's experiences is presented in <bold>Part II</bold> below.</p> <p>Graph: Figure 1. Sequence of analysis process.</p> <hd id="AN0182326428-9">Transferability</hd> <p>As with any small-scale qualitative study, the question as to what extent the findings are generalisable is always a challenge. However, following Stakes' ([<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref81">51</reflink>], 85) notion of 'naturalistic generalisations', it is up to the reader to determine to what extent the data and findings are relevant and transferable to their own context. In other words, transferability 'relies on the context dependent judgement of "fit" between two or more cases' (Hellström [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref82">32</reflink>], 321), or described experiences. The fact that the <emph>Significant Events Approach to Children's Rights</emph> is based on the 42 substantive Articles of the UNCRC also means researchers and educators have the same universal frame of reference to make judgements against (Cole-Albäck [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref83">9</reflink>]). Five subsections in the original study (Cole-Albäck [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref84">9</reflink>], 161, 171, 186, 198, 211) clearly illustrated how transferable the 16 focus children's experiences of rights were, across the four settings in England and Finland.</p> <hd id="AN0182326428-10">Limitations</hd> <p>A limitation of the original study and by extension the tool presented in this paper is that data was based on a small number of participants. However, following the notion of naturalistic generalisations (Stake 1995), as opposed to traditional scientific generalisations, the findings are transferrable within the European context as mentioned above. It would be interesting to explore in a future study if the transferability of the identified five <emph>Guiding Articles</emph> extends beyond the European context.</p> <p>As to the method, participant observations are much dependent on the observer's observation skills as well as awareness of observer bias and observer effect. In addition, selective recall is a limitation of anecdotal writing especially if much time has elapsed between observations and write-up, which was however not the case in the original study. It also has to be recognised that although a rating scale may be considered objective, the rating is not only subjective but also dependent on personal knowledge and theoretical understanding when exploring interpretations. However, as the tool is intended as a catalyst for professional reflections rather than quantifying experiences, these limitations can be mediated by member checking, which was also carried out in the original study with participating educators and children, as described above.</p> <hd id="AN0182326428-11">Part II</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0182326428-12">Findings and discussion</hd> <p>Although the 42 substantive Articles of the UNCRC are all equally important and should be considered inter-related and interdependent, data from the doctoral study suggest that there were five rights that cut across the two countries and related to all 16 children. They can be seen as giving another dimension to the understanding of the UNCRC in ECEC, especially considering data collected was from two countries with different histories of engagement with children's rights; an important rationale for choosing the two countries in the study.</p> <p>The analysis of 75 h of participant observations across the four settings identified 317 <emph>Significant Events</emph>, experiences identified as (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref85">1</reflink>) and (<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref86">5</reflink>) as defined above. They revealed, using the terminology from the UNCRC, the following rights that all 16 focus children in the two countries had in common:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> Article 3.2 </bold> – protection and care necessary for well-being (Protection)</item> <p></p> <item> <bold> Article 3.3 </bold> – standards for safety, health, number of, and suitability of staff (Protection)</item> <p></p> <item> <bold> Article 13.1 </bold> – freedom of expression (Participation)</item> <p></p> <item> <bold> Article 29.1(a) </bold> – development to fullest potential (Provision)</item> <p></p> <item> <bold> Article 31.1 </bold> – play (Provision)</item> </ulist> <p>These five shared or common Articles, Cole-Albäck ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref87">9</reflink>]) classifies as <emph>Guiding Articles</emph>, Articles that can be seen as foundational for informing practice from a rights-based perspective in ECEC. Other Articles linked to events identified in individual settings, but not noted in relation to all the focus children, were classified as <emph>Significant Articles</emph>. <bold>Article 17</bold> (lack of access to information), <bold>Article 19</bold> (emotional and physical protection), <bold>Article 23</bold> (special needs) and <bold>Article 24.2</bold> (health and nutritious food) were flagged up as significant (1 or 5) to some children, hence significant only to a specific setting. This does not imply that these Articles are less important, simply that they were cohort-dependent and not cross-cutting in the original study.</p> <p>To illustrate the significance of each <emph>Guiding Article</emph> to children under three, the experiences of five children are presented below following the rational of <emph>extreme case sampling</emph>, as they are particularly enlightening (Patton [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref88">44</reflink>]). With <emph>extreme</emph> is meant <emph>unusual</emph> or <emph>unique</emph> rather than the intrinsically positive or negative value of the experience (Gerring [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref89">26</reflink>]) or <emph>Significant Event</emph> per se.</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <emph>Article 3.2 – the protection and care necessary for well-being</emph> </item> </ulist> <p> <bold>Emma</bold> (2 years 1 month) was a most content child, whose experiences elucidate <bold>Article 3.2</bold>. She was what Laevers, Moons, and Declercq ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref90">36</reflink>], 11) would define as being 'like a fish in water'; content and cheerful, at ease and open, interested and happy. In 96% of her observations (24/25) Emma scored (<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref91">5</reflink>) on the well-being scale, as evident in, for instance, her playful interactions at the breakfast table one morning when she engaged her friend Sophia in an exchange of nonsense words that had the girls in fits of giggles while they were waiting to be excused from the table. The routines, experiences and relationships with educators and children seemed to be accordant with Emma's needs for <bold>protection and care necessary for her well-being</bold> as she appeared to feel safe and secure in the setting. In Nordic countries, there is a word for this sense of feeling physically safe and emotionally secure called <emph>trygg</emph>. Cole-Albäck ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref92">9</reflink>]) suggests that in the context of ECEC, in addition to feeling safe and secure, a child being settled is also an aspect of feeling <emph>trygg.</emph> All 16 children experienced events relating to the <bold>protection and care necessary for their well-being</bold> (<bold>Article 3.2</bold>) as expressed in laughter or tears. Of particular interest, from a pedagogical perspective, it is only when children feel <emph>trygg</emph> or safe, secure and settled that children can thrive in a setting, feeling like a fish in water, and develop to their fullest potential (<bold>Article 29.1(a)</bold>). The protection and care necessary for well-being is as such an important guiding right.</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> 2. <emph>Article 3.3 – institutional standards with regards to the suitability of staff</emph></item> </ulist> <p> <bold>Jessica</bold> (2 years 6 months) on the other hand experienced a most unsettling event that elucidates <bold>Article 3.3</bold> and the importance of <bold>institutional standards</bold> with regards to <bold>suitability of staff</bold> (using the terminology in the UNCRC). In a moment when her best friend Bella was not paying attention to her, Jessica, clutching her trusted Teddy, smacked Bella on the head. Bella looked surprised and displeased. Jessica's key person, who was tidying up took to her feet, dashed to the girls, snatched Jessica's Teddy from her and put it out of reach. Crying, Jessica begged for her Teddy, but as her key person turned away from Jessica, she said she could not have it back as she should not hit her friends. Jessica was left to try to self-sooth without her Teddy. All 16 children experienced positive or challenging events that could be linked to their relationship to educators, begging the conversation as to what constitutes <bold>suitable staff</bold>? Cole-Albäck ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref93">9</reflink>]) suggests educators need to be more than implementers of a curriculum, as their relationship to a child can have a major impact on children's experiences and development. She therefore suggests educators should move away from the concept of <emph>child-centredness</emph> and follow Spyrou's ([<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref94">50</reflink>]) recommendation to move towards a more <emph>relational</emph> pedagogy, with a focus on developing what van Manen ([<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref95">60</reflink>]) calls <emph>pedagogical tact and sensitivity.</emph> An awareness of <bold>Article 3.3</bold> and children's right to suitable staff should be part of every conversation about children's rights in ECEC. <bold>Article 3.3</bold> is as such an important guiding right so that children can develop to their fullest potential (<bold>Article 29.1(a)</bold>).</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> 3. <emph>Article 13.1 – the right to freedom of expression in any media of the child's choice</emph></item> </ulist> <p> <bold>Luke</bold> (2 years 6 months) was a mainly silent child, for reasons being explored but not identified at the time of the research. His experiences elucidate the importance of <bold>Article 13.1</bold> and children's right to <bold>freedom of expression in any media of the child's choice</bold>. Luke communicated mainly through hand gestures, highly nuanced facial expressions and a very distinctive slight flick of his right index finger (to guide your attention to something). However, in the hustle and bustle of the setting, his attempts at communicating often went unnoticed. Reference is often made to the Reggio Emilia approach and valuing children's <emph>hundred languages</emph> (Edwards, Gandini, and Forman [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref96">16</reflink>]); however, non-verbal communication and vocal sounds did not appear to be recognised and valued as an equally valid mode of communication in all four research settings. Children's strong emotional non-verbal communication, positive or negative, was challenged. The routines, experiences and relationships between educators and children did as such at times not seem to be accordant with children's <bold>choice of expression</bold>. All 16 children experienced positive or challenging events depending on the educator's response to children expressing themselves non-verbally.</p> <p>According to Lansdown and Ziba ([<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref97">37</reflink>], 66), <bold>Article 13</bold>, 'the right to freedom of expression represents the foundation of a free society and constitutes a central dimension of human dignity and autonomy'. Lansdown and Vaghir further state it is closely linked to <bold>Article 12</bold> but differs in that it is unlimited in scope, not limited to children capable of forming a view and it includes a right to seek and receive information. 'Every child is entitled to express and impart views without restriction in respect of age or capacity to any audience or indeed, to none, and on whatever issue they choose' (<reflink idref="bib69" id="ref98">69</reflink>). In other words, <bold>Article 13</bold> is about recognising the many ways children under three express themselves. It is about <emph>noticing</emph>, together with <emph>listening</emph> to non-verbal vocal sounds as well as verbal communication as mentioned above, initially taking what Sommer, Pramling Samuelsson, and Hundeide ([<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref99">48</reflink>], iv) call a 'child perspective', which requires that educators draw on their own personal knowledge and theoretical understanding when constructing plausible interpretations of experiences and gradually evolving to including 'children's perspectives', their own accounts, as their language develops. Acknowledging the caution by Elwick and colleagues, that there will always be an inherent uncertainty in our interpretation, valuing children's non-verbal communication and vocal sounds with <emph>pedagogical tact and sensitivity</emph> (van Manen [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref100">60</reflink>]) is an important guiding right so that children can develop to their fullest potential (<bold>Article 29.1(a)</bold>).</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> 4. <emph>Article 29.1(a) – the right to develop to their fullest potential</emph></item> </ulist> <p> <bold>Billy</bold> (2 years 9 months) was a child who thrived outdoors, and whose experiences elucidate <bold>Article 29.1(a)</bold>, the aims of education and a child's right to <bold>develop to their fullest potential</bold>. Much in contrast to Emma, the routines, experiences and relationships with educators and children seemed more of a challenge for Billy, with three out of five events recorded indoors ending in conflict or tears but only one out of five outdoor events scoring a (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref101">1</reflink>) on the well-being scale. Part of the setting's large outdoor environment included a woodland area with rugged terrain that the two-year-old children also had access to. Playing there did at times lead to bumps and bruises but in this setting this was part of growing up and not a problem. There, Billy was able to run free (physically and emotionally), be exuberant and physical, be fully himself in a way the more (physically and emotionally) confining indoor environment did not allow with its indoor rules and behaviour expectations. The experiences and relationships with educators and children seemed to be different outdoors, with the educators taking more of a backseat role and children taking more of a lead in their experiences. The outdoor environment with its different affordances seemed to provide for experiences and interactions that were more accordant with Billy's needs and more conducive for him to develop to his fullest potential. Hansen Sandseter and Ottesen Kennair ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref102">30</reflink>]) suggest there is an evolutionary function to children seeking out thrilling experiences or risky outdoor play, in that it supports the development of coping behaviours. Access to a challenging outdoor environment could therefore be seen as an important guiding right and aspect of <bold>Article 29.1(a)</bold>, for children to be able to develop to their fullest potential.</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> 5. <emph>Article 31.1 – the right to play</emph></item> </ulist> <p> <bold>Danny</bold> (2 years 4 months) and William (2 years 11 months) shared a convivial friendship, illuminating <bold>Article 31.1</bold>, and <bold>the right to play</bold>. One of the first things the boys would do, on the days they attended together, was to pick up the blue and white police car and the red and white ambulance, pushing them along the floor with great speed and agility, from room to room, skidding between furniture, making engine sounds. If one or the other got distracted along the way, they would call out to each other to resume the race or join the other at the activity that had distracted them. The car race was their very special experience as evident in their deep involvement, much verbal and non-verbal communication, vocal sounds and attunement. The structure of the day in this setting allowed for the boys to have extended periods of uninterrupted time to play together. The routines, experiences and relationships with educators and children seemed to be accordant with Danny's developmental needs; however, on the days William was not attending, the observations showed Danny's level of well-being as average (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref103">3</reflink>). He was not unhappy, but he was not as cheerful as when William was around. Although parents valued children's early friendship experiences, there did not seem to be an active role on the part of educators to nurture or support the development of friendship per se in any of the four settings, yet six of the 16 two-year-old children (38%) had already what could be defined as a best friend: another child that they cared for deeply as shown through acts of kindness and humour, affectionate displays and in their choice of play companion (Shin [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref104">47</reflink>]). Danny and William show that <bold>Article 31.1</bold> can be understood as more than a general <bold>right to play</bold> but also the right to be supported by educators (<bold>Article 3.3</bold>) in developing and maintaining peer relationships in their play, as early as the second year of life.</p> <p>Carter and Nutbrown ([<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref105">5</reflink>]) also recognise the important link between educators, children's friendship, and play in their phenomenological study of five- to seven-year-old children's friendship experiences in school. They present a conceptual framework called a <emph>Pedagogy of Friendship</emph> that consists of three features: educator knowledge, support for making and maintaining friendships, and time and space for making and maintaining friendship. This implies that educators need to spend time observing and listening to friendship experiences because of its significance to children and also for the impact friendship has on children's social, emotional and cognitive development (Carter and Nutbrown [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref106">5</reflink>]). The right to play is as such not only an important guiding right but Cole-Albäck ([<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref107">10</reflink>]) suggests it should also be understood to include the right to develop friendships so that children can develop to their fullest potential (<bold>Article 29.1(a)</bold>).</p> <hd id="AN0182326428-13">Reflections</hd> <p>The above five <emph>Guiding Articles</emph> illustrate how the UNCRC could be used as the starting point for initiating professional conversations in developing rights-based practice in ECEC. It could potentially benefit all setting to start by reflecting on the five <emph>Guiding Articles</emph>. They can be seen as giving another dimension to the understanding of the UNCRC in ECEC. The observation tool could then be used to flag up setting specific priorities to focus on when further reflecting on practice, taking the specific institutional context, makeup of educators and cohort of children into consideration. One educator who took part in the research said that she believed many of the educators in their setting were champions of children's rights without knowing it, because they were caring and nurturing (Cole-Albäck [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref108">9</reflink>]); however, that is not enough. Children are entitled to know they have Provision, Protection and Participation rights, and the right to exercise their rights from birth, as laid out in the UNCRC. This necessitates a pedagogical framework where the UNCRC is a core guiding document. It necessitates a pedagogy that questions the purpose of early childhood curricula, a pedagogy that is informed by a multi-layered theory, and a situated pedagogy centred on relationships and experiences. This has implications for practice as Cole-Albäck ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref109">9</reflink>]) suggests in that the UNCRC should inform policies, curricula and practice at every level of an early childhood organisation so that educators can fulfil their obligation to make the UNCRC widely known to adults and children alike in line with <bold>Article 42</bold>.</p> <hd id="AN0182326428-14">Conclusion</hd> <p>The general lack of visibility of young children's rights in ECEC led to the development of the <emph>Significant Events Approach to Children's Rights</emph>, as a way of recording what the interests, priorities and concerns of children are who do not primarily use language to communicate. As observations are commonly used to document children's development and many educators are familiar with rating scales, adopting a rights-based lens to the analysis process can easily be incorporated into everyday practice. It would be interesting to explore the educator perspective in a future study because <emph>The Significant Events Approach to Children's Rights</emph>, steeped in pedagogical tact and sensitivity (van Manen [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref110">60</reflink>]), has the potential to give young children a great start in learning about, experiencing, and exercising their rights, and in that process impact pedagogical practice, and thus have an influence on their own lives in ECEC.</p> <hd id="AN0182326428-15">Disclosure statement</hd> <p>No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).</p> <p>Correction Statement</p> <p>This article has been corrected with minor changes. 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  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: A 'Significant Events Approach to Children's Rights' with Children under Three in Early Childhood Education and Care
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  Data: English
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Aline+Cole-Albäck%22">Aline Cole-Albäck</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chris+Pascal%22">Chris Pascal</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tony+Bertram%22">Tony Bertram</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22European+Early+Childhood+Education+Research+Journal%22"><i>European Early Childhood Education Research Journal</i></searchLink>. 2025 33(1):67-81.
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  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
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  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 15
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education%22">Early Childhood Education</searchLink>
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  Label: Descriptors
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Children%22">Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Childrens+Rights%22">Childrens Rights</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Treaties%22">Treaties</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22International+Law%22">International Law</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Toddlers%22">Toddlers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education%22">Early Childhood Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+Care%22">Child Care</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Naturalistic+Observation%22">Naturalistic Observation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Play%22">Play</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self+Expression%22">Self Expression</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+Health%22">Child Health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+Safety%22">Child Safety</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom+%28England%29%22">United Kingdom (England)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Finland%22">Finland</searchLink>
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  Label: Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SU" term="%22United+Nations+Convention+on+the+Rights+of+the+Child%22">United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1080/1350293X.2024.2334873
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 1350-293X<br />1752-1807
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The "UN Convention on the Rights of the Child" is one of the most widely-ratified human rights treaties, yet the visibility of children in the early years, in the mandatory government reports to the "UN Committee on the Rights of the Child" and in the Committee's concluding observations to States Parties, is relatively low (Lundy, 2020, "Implementing the Rights of Young Children: An Assessment of the Impact of General Comment No. 7 on Law and Policy on a Global Scale," In "Routledge International Handbook of Young Children's Rights," edited by J. Murray, B. B. Swadener, and K. Smith, 15-29, London: Routledge). This paper sets out an innovative approach to record and analyse rights-based practice with young children, which focuses on significant events in a child's daily life that could help raise the visibility of children in the early years as rights holders. The analysis of 75 h of participant observations across two settings in England and two in Finland, involving 16 two-year-old children, revealed that there were five rights that cut across the two countries and related to all children. The study found that having a way of recording rights-based practice is important if we wish to support all children, in learning about, experiencing, and exercising their rights, so that they can have an impact on pedagogical practice and thus influence their own lives in ECEC.
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  Data: 2025
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  Label: Accession Number
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  Data: EJ1458177
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/1350293X.2024.2334873
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      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 15
        StartPage: 67
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Children
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Childrens Rights
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Treaties
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: International Law
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      – SubjectFull: Toddlers
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      – SubjectFull: Early Childhood Education
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      – SubjectFull: Child Care
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      – SubjectFull: Naturalistic Observation
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      – SubjectFull: Play
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      – SubjectFull: Self Expression
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      – SubjectFull: Child Health
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      – SubjectFull: Child Safety
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      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom (England)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Finland
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
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      – TitleFull: A 'Significant Events Approach to Children's Rights' with Children under Three in Early Childhood Education and Care
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