Educational Alternatives, Volume 22, 2024

Streszczenie: In recent years there has been an increasing interest in research on children's 'voice' and its influence on social processes. It is only in the last two decades that significant economic, institutional and academic developments have led to the participation of children as agents who act independently and to their recognition as 'experts regarding their own lives'. In 1989, the International Convention on the Rights of the Child acknowledged that the very young children are entitled to experience a sense of belonging and to feel that they have the freedom to express their own intentions, thus influencing various aspects of their life. Active listening is not only an expression of children's rights, but also an ethical and democratic practice. The aim of our study is to explore appropriate practices to highlight the "voice" of younger children aged 3-5 years in a Greek learning environment and to employ it in research data. Using appropriate tools and approaches, children of this age can express thoughts, feelings and attitudes on issues that concern them, whether they relate to their interaction with ‘significant others’ in their lives or their preferred play. Using a qualitative research methodology, our preliminary results argue for the confirmation that children living in a democratically responsive learning environment, whether in a family or educational context, can understand their place in life and act as active citizens as they grow up.