Child Rights-Based Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education: Insights from Portuguese Educators

Ribeiro, Cristiana; Mesquita, Cristina; Hernández Beltrán, Juan

Publication

Child Rights-Based Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education: Insights from Portuguese Educators

2025Journal article

datacite.subject.fos	Ciências Sociais::Ciências da Educação
datacite.subject.sdg	04:Educação de Qualidade
dc.contributor.author	Ribeiro, Cristiana
dc.contributor.author	Mesquita, Cristina
dc.contributor.author	Hernández Beltrán, Juan
dc.date.accessioned	2025-11-04T16:32:44Z
dc.date.available	2025-11-04T16:32:44Z
dc.date.issued	2025
dc.description.abstract	Promoting children’s rights in early childhood education is internationally recognised as a priority, yet its practical implementation remains challenging. This qualitative study explored the perceptions of three early childhood educators in northern Portugal regarding children’s rights and how these are reflected in their practices. Guided by an interpretive paradigm, the study sought to understand participants’ beliefs through semi-structured interviews, conducted with full ethical compliance, including informed consent, withdrawal rights, and anonymity. Data were analysed using MAXQDA, through an inductively generated coding system. Findings indicate that educators acknowledge their vital role in upholding children’s rights and in fostering respectful learning environments. However, significant gaps were found in the realisation of the right to participation, with tensions between educators’ stated values and their described practices—particularly regarding children’s involvement in decision-making. A prevailing emphasis on protection often limited children’s autonomy and agency. The study highlights the complexities of translating policy frameworks, such as Portuguese legislation and the UNCRC, into consistent pedagogical action. Despite its small sample size, the study offers valuable insights into the barriers to implementing a rights-based pedagogy and underscores the need for enhanced educator training, active listening practices, and the recognition of play as a fundamental right.	por
dc.description.sponsorship	This work was supported by FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology under the Project UID/05777/2023 (https://doi.org/10.54499/UID/05777/2023) and through Doctoral Grant 2023.04003.BDANA.
dc.identifier.citation	Ribeiro, Cristiana; Mesquita, Cristina; Hernández Beltrán, Juan (2025). Child Rights-Based Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education: Insights from Portuguese Educators. Education Sciences. ISSN 2227-7102. 15:10, p. 1-17
dc.identifier.doi	10.3390/educsci15101301
dc.identifier.issn	2227-7102
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10198/34944
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.peerreviewed	yes
dc.publisher	MDPI
dc.relation.ispartof	Education Sciences
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject	Children’s rights
dc.subject	Early childhood education
dc.subject	Child rights-based pedagogy
dc.subject	Educator perspectives
dc.subject	Participation
dc.title	Child Rights-Based Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education: Insights from Portuguese Educators
dc.type	journal article
dspace.entity.type	Publication
oaire.citation.endPage	17
oaire.citation.issue	10
oaire.citation.startPage	1
oaire.citation.title	Education Sciences
oaire.citation.volume	15
oaire.version	http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
person.familyName	Ribeiro
person.familyName	Mesquita
person.givenName	Cristiana
person.givenName	Cristina
person.identifier	K-3931-2017
person.identifier.ciencia-id	7E1D-3D8C-04D1
person.identifier.ciencia-id	281C-3FE6-83CA
person.identifier.orcid	0000-0002-7821-5015
person.identifier.orcid	0000-0002-4992-8614
person.identifier.scopus-author-id	56203897400
relation.isAuthorOfPublication	1194e150-7008-477b-9cf1-d3bb6a6fadae
relation.isAuthorOfPublication	f3281c2f-9bf6-49af-84a8-995ca1a8bdd8
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery	1194e150-7008-477b-9cf1-d3bb6a6fadae