The participation of boys and girls in the framework of Early Childhood Education: Some coordinates for its effective practice

Abstract

Child participation is a right recognized by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). However, listening to childhood is still a challenge to face. This work reflects on the importance of the participation of boys and girls in the framework of Early Childhood Education, conceiving the Nursery School as a privileged forum to give a voice to children, a space where they learn to participate, have the opportunity to experience democracy and exert influence from the everyday. In addition to addressing the benefits of child participation or why it is necessary, coordinates or key aspects to consider are presented to promote children's participation in the school environment and in educational research, with the aim of promoting processes of innovation and educational improvement that through the contributions of the children they help to build another school, kinder, closer and more democratic, where the voices of all its inhabitants are heard. We hope that the coordinates that we present in this article can also serve to enable an emerging knowledge of current childhood, of their interests and demands.