Abstract
This chapter describes inclusive and exclusionary practices concerning children’s voices. These practices were reconstructed based on the experiences of Polish student teachers who have completed their professional training in preschools. Qualitative methods were used for data collection and analysis. The aim of this chapter is to analyse the reconstructed inclusive and exclusionary practices through Jacques Rancière’s prism of the distribution of the sensible. This category allows for the evaluation of different ways of expressing voice. In the dominant school discourse, voices can be defined as significant (usually it is the teacher’s voice) and as clatter or chatter (often the child’s voice is perceived this way). Such a division is typical for educational institutions but hidden under the veil of political correctness and teachers’ assurances that they respect children’s rights to freedom of speech and opinion. Being aware of this division, especially by future teachers, is important for the implementation of the ‘aims of education’ and children’s rights culture in educational institutions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
English equivalent: Children should be seen and not heard.
- 2.
The study was conducted in June 2017 by Maria Groenwald from the University of Gdańsk and the author of this article.
- 3.
At this point, Rancière refers to Aristotle, who assumed that man, as the only living creature, had the ability to speak. Voice, on the one hand, is an animal trait and is used to communicate pleasant or unpleasant states. Speech, on the other hand, is a more complex tool and is used to define what is useful and harmful or what is just and unjust. See Aristotle (1996).
References
Aristotle. (1996). Politics. Books I and II (T. J. Sanders, Trans.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Babicka-Wirkus, A. (2018). Democracy and children ́s right to self- expression in lower secondary school. Voces de la Educación, número especial, 61–74. https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02523862/document
Babicka-Wirkus, A. (2019). Children’s rights and human rights as a key condition for the education of transformative teachers. In M. Kowalczuk-Walędziak et al. (Eds.), Rethinking teacher education for the 21st century. Trends, challenges and new directions (pp. 239–252). Verlag Barbara Budrich.
Babicka-Wirkus, A., & Groenwald, M. (2018). Głos dziecka w przedszkolu – między swobodą wypowiedzi a milczeniem [Child’s voice in kindergarten – Between freedom of speech and silence]. Problemy wczesnej edukacji, 1(40), 95–104.
Biesta, G. (2011). Lerner, student, speaker: Why it matters how we call those we teach. In M. Simons & J. Masschelein (Eds.), Rancière, public education and the taming of democracy (pp. 31–42). Wiley-Blackwell.
Bligh, C. (2011). Rights in early years settings and a young child’s right to silence. In P. Jones & G. Walker (Eds.), Children’s rights in practice (pp. 95–108). Sage.
Brantefors, L., Tellgren, B., & Thelander, N. (2019). Human rights education as democratic education. The teaching traditions of children’s human rights in Swedish early childhood education and school. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 27(4), 694–718. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718182-02704007
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory. A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Sage.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage.
Fielding, M. (2004). Transformative approaches to student voice: Theoretical underpinnings, recalcitrant realities. British Educational Research Journal, 30(2), 295–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141192042000195236
Friedman, V., Razer, M., & Sykes, I. (2004). Towards a theory of inclusive practice: An action science approach. Action Research, 2(2), 167–189. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750304043729
Giroux, H. A. (2001). Theory and resistance in education: Towards a pedagogy for the oppression. Bergin & Garvey.
Harris, P., & Manatakis, H. (2013). Children’s voices. A principled framework for children and young people’s participation as valued citizens and learners. Government of South Australia. https://www.education.sa.gov.au/sites/default/files/childrens-voices-framework.pdf?acsf_files_redirect; https://www.decd.sa.gov.au/sites/g/files/net691/f/childrens-voices-framework.pdf. Accessed 11 Aug 2017.
Howe, B. R., & Cowell, K. (2010). Miseducation children about their right. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 5(2), 91–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/1746197910370724
James, A., & James, A. (2012). Key concepts in childhood studies (2nd ed.). Sage.
Jerome, L. (2012). Children’s rights and teachers’ responsibilities. A case study of developing a rights respecting initial teacher education programme. In R. C. Mitchell & S. A. Moore (Eds.), Policies, participation & power relations (pp. 101–117). Sense Publishers.
Jones, P., & Welch, S. (2010). Rethinking children’s rights. Attitudes in contemporary society. Continuum.
Kilkelly, U., Kilpatrick, R., Lundy, L., Moore, L., Scraton, P., Davey, C., Dwyer, C., & McAlister, S. (2005). Children’s rights in Northern Ireland. NICCY and Queens’ University of Belfast.
Lansdown, G. (2011). Every child’s right to be heard. A resource guide on the UN Committee on the Rights of the child general comment no.12. UNICEF. The Save the Children Foundation. https://www.unicef.org/french/adolescence/files/Every_Childs_Right_to_be_Heard.pdf. Accessed 25 Feb 2019.
Lewis, A. (2010). Silence in the context of ‘child voice’. Children & Society, 24(1), 14–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2008.00200.x
Lundy, L. (2007). “Voice” is not enough: Conceptualizing article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. British Educational Research Journal, 33(6), 927–942. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920701657033
MacNaughton, G., Smith, K., & Lawrence, H. (2003). Hearing young children’s voices. ACT children’s strategy: Consulting with children birth to eight years of age. Parkville, Australia, Centre for Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood, Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f339/e6fa99aa3c57e446a7df58deaa16431d5a18.pdf. Accessed 20 Oct 2017.
Marshall, K. (2006). Children’s voices – Early years. In Learning and Teaching Scotland (Ed.), Let’s talk about listening to children: Towards a shared understanding for early years education in Scotland perspective series, 2 (pp. 1–8). Learning and Teaching Scotland.
Masschelein, J., & Simons, M. (2011). The hatred of public schooling: The school as the mark of democracy. In M. Simons & J. Masschelein (Eds.), Rancière, public education and the taming of democracy (pp. 31–42). Wiley-Blackwell.
McCluskey, G., Brown, J., Munn, P., Lloyd, G., Hamilton, L., Sharp, S., & Macleod, G. (2013). “Take more time to actually listen”: Students’ reflections on participation and negotiation in school. British Educational Research Journal, 39(2), 287–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411926.2012.659720
McIntyre, D., Pedder, D., & Rudduck, J. (2005). Pupil voice: Comfortable and uncomfortable learnings for teachers. Research Papers in Education, 20(2), 149–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671520500077970
McLamon, J. (2008). Listening as a way of life – Supporting parents and carers to listen: A guide for practitioners. National Children’s Bureau/DCSF.
McLaren, P. (1999). Schooling as a ritual performance. Toward political economy of educational symbols and gestures (3rd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Messiou, K., & Ainscow, M. (2015). Responding to learner diversity: Student views as a catalyst for powerful teacher development? Teaching and Teacher Education, 51, 246–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.07.002
Myck-Wayne, J., & Pierson, M. R. (2019). Inclusive practice for all: Child perspectives. In V. Margrain & A. Löfdahl Hultman (Eds.), Challenging democracy in early childhood education, international perspectives on early childhood education and development, 28 (pp. 197–211). Springer Nature.
Osler, A., & Starkey, H. (2010). Teachers and human rights education. Institute of Education Press.
Perry-Hazan, L. (2015). Freedom of speech in schools and the right to participation: When the first amendment encounters the convention on the rights of the child. Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal, 2, 421–452.
Potter, C., & Whittaker, C. (2011). What does the ‘voice of the child’ mean for children with complex learning and communication impairments? In P. Jones & G. Walker (Eds.), Children’s rights in practice (pp. 82–94). Sage.
Rancière, J. (1991). The ignorant schoolmaster. Five lessons in intellectual emancipation (K. Ross, Trans.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Rancière, J. (1999). Dis-agreement: Politics and philosophy (K. Ross, Trans.). Minneapolis & St Paul, MN: University of Minnesota.
Rancière, J. (2004). The politics of aesthetics: The distribution of the sensible (G. Rockhill, Trans.). New York: Continuum.
Razer, M., Friedman, V. J., & Warshofsky, B. (2013). Schools as agents of social exclusion and inclusion. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 17(11), 1152–1170. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2012.742145
Ribaeus, K., & Skånfors, L. (2019). Preschool children as democratic subjects: Agents of democracy. In V. Margrain & A. Löfdahl Hultman (Eds.), Challenging democracy in early childhood education, international perspectives on early childhood education and development,28 (pp. 233–245). Springer Nature.
Rodgers, C. (2018). Descriptive feedback: Student voice in K-5 classrooms. Australian Educational Review, 45(4), 87–102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-018-0263-1
Rudduck, J. (2007). Student voice, student engagement, and school reform. In D. Thiessen & A. Cook-Sather (Eds.), International handbook of student experience in elementary and secondary school (pp. 587–610). Springer.
Sargeant, J., & Gillett-Swan, J. K. (2019). Voice-inclusive practice (VIP): A charter for authentic student engagement. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 27(1), 122–139. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718182-02701002
Simó Gil, N., Parareda Pallarès, A., & Tellado, I. (2017). Learning democracy in schools: Experiences towards an active citizenship education. Social Studies: Theory and Practice, 3(2), 63–79.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basic of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques (2nd ed.). Sage.
United Nations. (1989). Convention on the rights of the child. Retrieved June 21, 2018, from: https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx
United Nations. (2001). Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment no. 1. The Aims of Education (CRC/GC/2001/1). United Nations.
United Nations. (2009). Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment no. 12, The right of the child to be heard (CRC/C/GC/12). United Nations.
Warzecha, B. (2002). Teaching and learning at the limit institutional and social processes of disintegration with the school age young people in Hamburg. British Journal for Learning Support, 17(2), 16–21.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Babicka-Wirkus, A. (2021). Inclusive and Exclusionary Practices Concerning a Child’s Voice in Preschool: The Perspectives and Experiences of Polish Student Teachers. In: Gillett-Swan, J., Thelander, N. (eds) Children’s Rights from International Educational Perspectives. Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Educational Research, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80861-7_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80861-7_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-80860-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-80861-7
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)