Children's Rights and Early Childhood Policy: Impacts and Influences

Abstract

A combination of research and policy initiatives in early childhood has resulted in a growing interest in young children’s rights. It is a complex discourse characterised by ambiguous understandings of what children’s rights are. This article discusses some of the main early childhood policies and documents from the mid-1980s until the release of the Strategic Plan (Ministry of Education, 2002), with a focus on children’s rights – a focus that has been, at times, subsumed by other contextual influences, including political and economic agendas. While research findings and policy initiatives now appear to be more aligned, children as citizens with rights are still vulnerable.