The Uneven Distribution of Children’s Rights

Abstract

The discourse on children’s rights has reconceptualised children and childhood in terms of human integrity and ontology. However, there are ongoing questions over its universal applicability. In this paper I offer a critical examination of children’s rights, focusing on the uneven distribution rather than universal spread of rights which dominates the discourse. The paper focuses on educational rights in terms of frames of reference that limit children’s access to rights, including mass compulsory schooling, futurity and discursive forms of participation. Drawing on the illustrative case of young carers in England, the paper argues this critical conception of schooling restricts children’s access to formal education, marginalising their material and emotional contributions to their families and communities. In the final section I explore an alternative framework, children’s ‘living rights’ within which to understand the work that young carers undertake and thus improve access to their rights.