Children’s Rights to Participation and Protection: Examining Child and Youth Care College Curricula in Ontario

Abstract

Within child and youth care (CYC) education, supporting and implementing the rights of children and youth requires more than simple identification of these rights. It is also vital to explore issues such as how young people’s rights to participation and protection influence CYC education, and how to constructively move forward with child and youth participation in CYC college curricula. In 2018, a small study was conducted in the Canadian province of Ontario, guided by child and youth advisory committees, with data collection involving young people, CYC educators and practitioners. The findings verified that young people can play valuable roles in supporting the understandings and learnings of emerging CYC practitioners. Child and youth participation is an important but generally unappreciated element of CYC education and its role in advancing children’s rights to protection.