Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE PRE2001

 
TITLE Children’s Rights and Children’s Voices

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Early Childhood and Primary Education

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit sets out to examine in depth The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the implications it has as various local, national and international entities have the responsibility of putting the convention into practice. The Convention sets out the rights that must be realized for children to develop their full potential in the absence of hunger, neglect and abuse. As human beings with their own rights, children are neither the property of their parents nor are they helpless objects of charity. The Convention offers a vision of the child as an individual and as a member of a family and community, with rights and responsibilities appropriate to his or her age and stage of development. By recognizing children's rights in this way, the Convention firmly sets the focus on the whole child. (adapted from http://www.unicef.org/crc/index_protecting.html).

Study-unit Aims

By examining the text of the Convention on the rights of the child, the study-unit aims at inviting students to examine their practices as well as those of other entities which deal directly with children in order to reflect upon the extent to which children’s rights are observed and what measures can be taken to improve practices.

Learning Outcomes

1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Be familiar with the convention for the rights of the child;
- Become aware of and able to analyse the extent to which children’s rights are respected;
- Be aware of the importance of equal opportunities for children and families based on rights, irrespective of ability, culture, gender, class, ethnicity and socio-economic status.

2. Skills (including transferable [generic] skills): By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Research contemporary documentation and other fields of knowledge regarding children's rights and the values implicit in such documentation;
- Observe and assess children’s rights and needs at a high level;
- Demonstrate empathy and solidarity with children and families;
- Integrate children’s participation and voice within the learning process & daily practice in the early years’ settings.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings

- Convention on the Rights of the Child + Documentation from UNICEF, available on-line.
- Alderson, P. (2008). Young children's rights: Exploring beliefs, principles and practice. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. (to be ordered)
- Franklin, B. (2001). The new handbook of children's rights: Comparative policy and practice. Routledge. (to be ordered)
- Sollars, V. (2006). The child’s right to play. A study of Maltese children’s perceptions on cultural and recreational activities. PEG: Office of the Commissioner for children. Available at: http://www.crin.org/docs/CFC_Children%27s%20Right%20to%20Play.pdf.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Seminar

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Presentation Yes 40%
Assignment Yes 60%

 
LECTURER/S Heathcliff Schembri

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit