Democratic Participation in Early Childhood Education and Care - Serving the Best Interests of the Child

The aim of the study is to draw attention to what is meant by democratic participation in kindergarten in connection to the stipulation that the child’s best interests must always be safeguarded. The study investigates the idea of children’s democratic participation in a Norwegian kindergarten context, linked to Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, where it is stated that “each State party must respect and implement the right of the child to have his or her best interests assessed and taken as a primary consideration”. The author analyses the general comments on Article 3 (GC14) made by the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child with the research question: What does a document analysis of the committee’s GC14 reveal about what is meant by democratic participation in kindergarten, in connection with consideration for the child's best interests? The author hopes her findings can provide kindergartens with guidelines on how best to contribute to an inclusive everyday life in kindergartens with a greater focus on the needs of vulnerable children. 

The document analysis shows that the idea of democratic participation, related to what the child’s best interests are, is a significant value in GC14. That is, what is in the child’s best interests in individual situations will be impossible to fulfil without the child also being heard. In addition, the study found that children who are in vulnerable situations have an explicit right to express their views and be heard in decisions that affect them in everyday kindergarten life. The author of the study believes that the strong connection between consideration for the child’s best interests and democratic participation should lead authorities to implement a practice where children’s democratic participation in everyday kindergarten life is highlighted. 

The author has carried out a document analysis of the comment on Article 3 made by the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The comment, published in 2013, provides a framework for assessing and determining what is in the child’s best interests. The target groups are authorities and individuals working with children. In the document analysis, searches have been carried out for the key words: rights, participation, solidarity, equality, impact and responsibility. In addition, searches were then carried out for connections between these words and the phrase ‘the best interests of the child’.

Eriksen, E. (2018). "Democratic Participation in Early Childhood Education and Care - Serving the Best Interests of the Child". Nordisk barnehageforskning, 17(1).