Inclusive Pedagogies for Early Childhood Education

Respecting and Responding to Differences in Learning

Carmel Conn, Alison Murphy, Carmel Conn, Alison Murphy

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781000545135
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This essential textbook explores inclusive pedagogies by presenting theoretical viewpoints and research on everyday practices in early childhood education that affirm diversity in relation to learning, disability and culture.

The authors consider the pedagogical practices involved in supporting educational inclusion for young children. The book focuses on key issues in relation to inclusive pedagogy including young children's learning subjectivities, socio-material realities of learning in early childhood contexts, and perspective-taking of children and adults in relation to learning and difference.

The book draws together findings from experts who are employing innovative methods for research in early childhood education, including conversation analysis, phenomenological enquiry and participant ethnography, in order to create new knowledge and understanding about how young children are and feel themselves to be included.

This textbook will be essential reading for students and practitioners alike. The book is particularly pertinent for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying early years as well as courses which focus on education or teaching or inclusion.

Part I

Theoretical perspectives on inclusive pedagogy

DOI: 10.4324/9781003163206-2

1 The children’s rights approach to early childhood education

Policy and context in Wales

Alison Murphy and Jane Waters-Davies

DOI: 10.4324/9781003163206-3

Introduction and background

It is important to remember that inclusion and human rights are inextricably linked. In 1945, when the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this was the first time that a set of fundamental human rights had been set out. These rights were deemed as applicable to everyone (universal), interlinked, inalienable, meaning that they cannot be sold or given away, and are unconditional, that is, they are not subject to the behaviour of the individual. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was drawn up by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in 1949. Over 100 members of parliament from across Europe (including the UK) gathered to compose the charter. The UK was the first nation to ratify the convention in March 1951. However, it took until 1998 for the UK to enshrine these rights into domestic law. Prior to this time the UK was signed up to other human rights treaties, even though human rights were not protected by legislation. In the UK, the Human Rights Act (HRA 1998) became law in the UK and has been operational since 2000. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were required to adhere to the Act from their instigation in 1999. The UK government announced a review of the HRA in December 2020.

However, with the UK effectively leaving the European Union (EU) in 2021, there has been some debate around human rights and how this will be affected by ‘Brexit’: Britain’s exit from the EU. According to Cowell (2021) the UK is still committed to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and subsequently the jurisdiction of the European Court on Human Rights as part of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. He goes on to discuss the challenges that exist regarding this ‘locking in’ to the ECHR and the possibilities of the introduction of UK law to limit the powers of the European Court of Human Rights in the UK. The European Court of Human Rights has been instrumental in advocating inclusion and supporting the rights of disabled people in the UK; therefore any erosion of their authority to act upon these rights would be potentially detrimental to inclusion and inclusive practice.

Alongside the HRA in the UK is the Equality Act of 2010; this was introduced to combine a number of existing pieces of legislation in order to strengthen the law which protects people from discrimination and disadvantage. This included the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Race Relations Act 1976 and Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The Equality Act (2010) states that ‘it is unlawful for any education provider, including a private or independent provider, to discriminate between pupils on grounds of disability, race, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, or sex’ (Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education 2018). These ‘protected characteristics’ make it unlawful to discriminate on these grounds regarding the admission of new pupils, pupils currently at the school (including absent or temporarily excluded pupils) and former pupils. The Equality and Human Rights Commission was set up in 2007 incorporating the work of the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Disability Rights Commission. The Commission also took on other aspects of equality including age, sexual orientation, and religion or belief, as well as promoting an understanding of the HRA and the Equality Act. According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (2020), they are a statutory non-departmental public body and their role is to safeguard and enforce laws to protect people’s rights.

The inception of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989 was a milestone in the awakening of interest around children’s rights. The Convention, which incorporates 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life, was ratified by the UK government and enshrined in subsequent legislation such as the Children Act of 1989 and 2004. It outlines children’s civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights supporting the view that children should be involved in decisions which affect them individually and collectively. In 2016, the UN examined the UK government on their compliance with the UNCRC. The UN concluded that the UK needed to further develop inclusive education and prioritise this, making sure that mainstream schools are fully accessible to children with disabilities (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 2016). Concern was also expressed regarding how the opinions of children with disabilities were sought and how these views were incorporated into the decision-making process. Thus, the participation rights of children with disabilities was seen as lacking and needing to be strengthened in UK government policies and subsequent practice.

Historically Wales has led the way on children’s rights in the UK and politicians have prioritised children’s rights since devolution in 1998 with a ‘child first’ approach. Wales was the first nation in the UK to establish a Children’s Commissioner; this was followed by the ground-breaking Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure (2011). The latter reflected the Welsh Government’s commitments to supporting children’s rights through legislation and policy in Wales. The law requires all Welsh Ministers, whenever they exercise their functions, to have due regard to the UNCRC.

Since the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure in 2011, a number of policies have been developed to support children’s rights in Wales. In 2016, Young Wales developed the Children and Young People’s National Participation Standards. These standards were designed to help organisations and individuals who work with children and young people to make sure that participation is central to the work that they do. The Standards are underpinned by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, which puts the involvement of children at the centre of improving well-being (Children in Wales 2016).

The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill was passed by the National Assembly for Wales in 2017 and became law in January 2018 after receiving Royal Assent. The new Act aims to create a new unified statutory framework for children and young people with additional learning needs (ALN) aged 0–25. It will replace the current system which involves the statementing of children with special educational needs (SEN), which has been in place for over 30 years. Some of the key features of the Bill include the change in terminology (from SEN to ALN) and the extension of support for young people up to the age of 25. Statements and Individual Education Plans (IEP) and Learning Support Plans will be replaced by the new support plan called an Individual Development Plan (IDP). In terms of inclusion, the Act commits to actively including learners in person-centred planning approaches. The Welsh Government (WG 2020a, 3) states that ‘It is imperative that children and young people see the planning process as something which is done with them rather than to them’. Learners and their parents/carers should be participants in all aspects of the process.

There has been a significant delay in the implementation of the Act due to the Covid pandemic and as such the phased implementation did not begin until September 2021. The ALN Code for Wales (WG 2021a), which replaces the previous code of practice, also came into force at this time. Initial feedback from the Children’s Commissioner for Wales (CCW 2019) regarding the draft Code recognised the acknowledgement of the five principles of The Right Way: A Children’s Rights Approach for Education in Wales (CCW 2017) within the ALN Code and the call for local education authorities to consider these as part of the Act. The Commissioner also expressed concerns about whether the Code is doing enough to promote and protect the rights of children and young people with additional learning needs on an everyday basis. The transition to the new system will involve major changes for local authorities, schools and further education colleges and the voice of pupils and parents needs to be central to the implementation process in order to allay stress and anxiety as well ensuring continuous provision of support for children and young people with ALN during the transitionary period.

This chapter will explore how participation rights have been enacted in Wales acknowledging the changing landscape of statutory guidance in Wales as well as the UN report of 2016 which expressed concerns regarding the participation rights of children with disabilities and the challenges that they face in terms of being able to express their views and have these views taken into account. We will examine participation rights in terms of the existing early years curriculum and the proposed new Curriculum for Wales as well as initiatives such as The Right Way: A Children’s Rights Approach for Education in Wales (CCW 2017), a guide that was developed for education settings in Wales, and the Rights Respecting Schools Award (UNICEF 2021).

Early childhood education in Wales

Education policy for the first decade of Welsh devolution was informed by the vision document The Learning Country (NAfW 2001a, 2001b), which set out the intention to ‘build stronger foundations for learning in primary schools with a radical improvement for early years provision’ (NAfW 2001b, 12). The subsequent consultation document, The Learning Country: Foundation Phase 3–7 Years (NAfW 2003), set out the proposals for a Foundation Phase curriculum framework for children aged 3–7 years to ‘create a rich curriculum under seven Areas of Learning for children in the Foundation Phase’ (Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) 2008, 3). This radical overhaul of early childhood education and care in Wales signalled a shift away from UK central government education policy. It was also predicated upon a concern, supported by research literature, about the ‘detrimental’ (NAfW 2001a, 8) effect of an overly formal approach to early childhood education and care for children below 6 years of age.

Wales is in the midst of major reform of its education system as this chapter is in development (WG 2017a, 2021b). The Foundation Phase remains the statutory curriculum document for children aged 3–7 years until 2022, when it will be superseded by the new Curriculum for Wales (WG 2021b) which is designed for learners aged from 3–16 years.

The Foundation Phase Framework (WAG 2008) was introduced for school children aged 3–7 years (Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes) and those children aged 3 and over in maintained and non-maintained settings in an annual roll-out over the period from 2008 to 2011. The statutory curriculum document was updated in 2015 and still advocates the adoption of a play-based, experiential approach to early childhood education within the context of a balance of adult-directed and child-directed activity. Educational settings are required to provide children with access to ‘indoor and outdoor environments that are fun, exciting, stimulating and safe’ and to ‘promote children’s development and natural curiosity to explore and learn through first-hand experiences’ (WG 2015a, 3). In addition, children are to interact with adults with whom they should share episodes of sustained and shared thinking and adults are to ‘build on what they [children] already know and can do, their interests and what they understand’ (WG 2015a, 4). The Foundation Phase Framework requires, therefore, that practitioners, in part at least, engage flexibly and contingently with child-initiated activity in order to support learning indoors and outdoors. This requirement is situated within the broader context of the Welsh Government’s overall vision for children and young people which is based around seven core aims developed from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (see WAG 2006, 2008). The Foundation Phase sits within this overarching and emancipatory vision for children with an emphasis on the personal development and well-being of the child:

Children learn through first-hand experiential activities with the serious business of ‘play’ providing the vehicle. Through their play, childre...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of figures
• Contributing authors
• Introduction: Inclusive pedagogy as an ethics of responsibility and care
• PART I: Theoretical perspectives on inclusive pedagogy
• PART II: Using research to develop inclusive pedagogies
• Index