Advocating for Children’s Rights and Voices
Module Description
In this module, students will explore the concepts of children’s voice, involvement, and agency within both historical and contemporary Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) contexts.
The module is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989), which states that children have the right to be heard and to participate in decisions affecting their lives. Students will learn how to respect and uphold children’s rights, linking these principles to Malta’s legislation and policies such as the Office of the Commissioner for Children, the Civil Code, the Minor Protection (Alternative Care) Act, the Criminal Code, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the Education Act.
Students will discuss the UNCRC’s three pillars — provision, protection, and participation — and examine the benefits and challenges of promoting children’s participation and agency in practice. They will also become familiar with the policies that ECE and Care settings must follow to ensure full compliance with Maltese law.
Entry Requirements
Candidates who apply for this course will possess:
- A qualification at MQF level 4 and SEC/Ordinary Level passes in Mathematics, English, and Maltese.
- In the case of students who do not possess all the formal required academic qualifications, then the RPL process could be applied such that if evidence of equivalent learning, related to the area of study of this programme, is found then the applicant could still be accepted in the course. Such RPL process will subject applicants to an interview held with a board of experts within the field, chosen specifically by IDEA College, so as to verify their experiences and prior learning.
IDEA College’s RPL policy can be accessed through this link
Target Audience
This programme has the following target groups:
- Individuals who are approaching the field of Early Childhood Education.
- Individuals looking to work in the capacity of childcare educators.
Career Paths
This programme aims to equip the target audience with the knowledge, skills and competences listed.
The possible posts that this course prepares for: Childcare educator.
How you’ll be assessed
The course comprises:
- Evening classes for part-time courses.
- Classes held throughout the day for full-time courses.
- Guided learning, presentations, comprising synchronous online discussions, tutorials and/or videos.
- Self-study hours comprising research, reading and assignment work.
Assessment
Assessment is carried out via two mandatory components:
- Assessment 1
- Assessment 2
The programme includes different forms of assessment which allow for and promote students’ critical engagement. The assessment tasks may include an in-class assignment and/or a home-based written assignment using diverse assessment tools which may take the form of online and in-class discussions, examinations, case studies, reports, proposals, essays, and presentations, etc., as applicable to the diverse modules.
Learning Outcomes
Competences:
At the end of the module/unit the learner will have acquired the responsibility and autonomy to:
- Enable an understanding of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
- Analyse the extent to which the rights of young children are respected and taken into account.
- Examine different tools, resources and approaches which respect children’s rights.
- Formulate an understanding of how to allow space for children’s voices within ECE and Care settings.
- Prepare and present a learning environment which respects all children and allows for equity and inclusion.
- Conduct a review of the current local policy documents related to children’s rights.
- Promote an ECE and Care learning environment where protection, provision and participation rights are respected.
- Explore the potential connections between inclusive learning and children’s voices.
- Reflect on their role as practitioners who need to observe and assess children’s rights and needs.
- Analyse how to integrate children’s participation within the day-to-day teaching and learning process.
- Carry out tasks, literature searches and desk research about ways how to promote children’s voices.
Knowledge:
At the end of the module/unit, the learner will be able to:
- Learn about the key proponents of children’s rights.
- Learn about various myths related to children’s rights.
- Be familiar with the UNCRC and its several articles.
- Consolidate knowledge about the main terminology and terms used in law and policy documentation to refer to children’s rights.
- Learn about ways how one can create connections between the UNCRC, legislation and policy documents.
- Put forward reasoning on how legislation and policy documentation related to children’s rights has an impact on the ECE’s and Care practitioner’s practice.
- Identify and explain why the UNCRC is an important document.
- Develop knowledge of the main articles of the UNCRC especially those related to education and schooling.
- Be given opportunities to learn about how policy documents are directly related to the UNCRC.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how the UNCRC, policy documents and legislation have a direct impact on the young child.
- Describe various key debates and concepts about children’s rights.
- Discuss the importance of concepts such as voice, participation, and agency in childhood.
Skills:
At the end of the module/unit the learner will have acquired the following skills:
- Design learning environments which allow for genuine forms of child participation.
- Describe various tools which may be used to promote children’s voice in ECE and Care.
- Design flexible pedagogical tools which reflect the UNCRC’s articles.
- Investigate how parents/guardians may support in ensuring children’s voice is also respected at home.
- Evaluate how the contextual and relational conditions enable or disable young children’s participation.
- Enable all young children to explore their role within the class and school community.
- Help young children participate in decisions affecting their reality.
Module-Specific Learner Skills:
At the end of the module/unit the learner will be able to:
- Find ways how to evaluate young children’s agency.
- Develop a personal range of vocabulary about children’s rights.
- Model ways how to put into practice the notions of child participation.
- Foster a positive attitude towards decisions which are child-inclusive.
- Explore ways how to give more importance to children’s voice in day to day decisions within the ECE and Care setting.
- Develop a process of self-reflection in relation to work obligations, work ethic and professionalism in light of children’s rights.
Module-Specific Digital Skills and Competences:
At the end of the module/unit, the learner will be able to:
- Carry out academic research on websites (e.g. Google Scholar) or journals (e.g. EBSCO, Taylor & Francis, SAGE, etc).
- Navigate the internet for policy documents and other documents related to children’s rights and children’s voices.
- Navigate through the online learning platform to download and upload assignments, discussion boards, literature, tutorials etc.
- Use basic Microsoft office (or equivalent) applications in order to write and submit assignments.
- Use different digital tools to promote children’s voices.