Can you Hear me? Problematising the Enactment of uncrc Article 12 in Welsh Early Years Classrooms

This paper explores teacher enactment of the uncrc Article 12, a child’s right to participate and give their view within the context of Welsh early years settings (children aged three to seven). A rights-based perspective is adopted in which children are positioned as agentic and active meaning makers. Qualitative data was generated via observations, interviews and documentary analysis with data from three teachers presented here. Findings suggest that teachers’ enactment of a participation was complex and shaped by particular constructions of children and associated understandings of teachers’ role. Children’s voice and agency were bounded by place, time and teacher expectations of children. Whilst some practices appeared to limit opportunities for children’s voice, children often subtly took back control from teachers, thus demonstrating children as agentic beings. In order fully to actualise a children’s right agenda within Welsh settings, we call for a reconceptualisation of constructions of children and subsequent constructions of teachers.