Fledgling Embeddedness of Child Rights Education into Early Childhood Education and Care Undergraduate Programs in Chile

Abstract

This chapter explores how early childhood education and care (ECEC) undergraduate programs in Chile have been embedding the child rights education (CRE) framework (UNICEF, Child Rights Education Toolkit. UNICEF, Ginebra, 2014), asserting the importance of teachers as duty-bearers under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (UNICEF, Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF, New York. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/UNCRC/, 2017). It draws on findings from the authors’ 2014 study into the embeddedness of the child rights approach to undergraduate programs in Chile. Regarding children’s rights, Chile has followed a noteworthy trajectory—not only has there been consensus within the diverse fields working with and for children, but it has also become a matter for public policies. Certainly, the National Plan of Action for Children and Adolescents has, since the 1990s, designed public policies that promote the respect, protection, and fulfilment of children’s rights (Chile-Ministerio de Desarrollo Social & Consejo Nacional de Infancia, Plan de Acción Nacional de Niñez y Adolescencia 2018–2025, en el marco de la Agenda de Desarrollo Sostenible 2030 y las Observaciones del Comité de los Derechos del Niño al Estado de Chile 2015 [National Action Plan for childhood and adolescence 2018–2025, framed within the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the Observations of the Children’s Rights Committee to the Chilean State 2015]. Ministerio de Desarrollo Social—Consejo Nacional de Infancia. Retrieved from http://observatorioninez.consejoinfancia.gob.cl/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/plan-de-accion-y-ODS-cuadernillo.pdf, 2017). Also, within the ECEC field, the official national curriculum for children has considered young children as rights holders, in alignment with the principles enshrined in the UNCRC (Chile-Ministerio de Educación, Bases Curriculares de la Educación Parvularia [National curriculum for early childhood education]. MINEDUC, Santiago, 2001; Bases Curriculares Educación Parvularia [National curriculum for early childhood education]. MINEDUC, Santiago, 2018a), while the current standards for the initial preparation of ECEC teachers also acknowledge the relevance of children’s rights as a main reference for professional practice (Chile-Ministerio de Educación, Estándares Orientadores para Carreras de Educación Parvularia. Estándares Pedagógicos y Disciplinarios [National pedagogical and disciplinary standards for early childhood undergraduate programmes]. MINEDUC, Santiago, 2012). Despite this progress, the degree to which the CRE framework has permeated the undergraduate preparation of ECEC teachers remains uncertain. The chapter is organized into three sections: the first discusses the relevance of ECEC undergraduate programs in preparing teachers as duty-bearers under the UNCRC; the second contends that in the case of Chile, the embeddedness of the CRE framework is fledgling; and the third concludes by reflecting upon strategies to strengthen the embeddedness of the CRE framework into ECEC undergraduate programs in Chile.KeywordsChildren’s rightsDuty-bearersTeacher preparationECEC Chile