Objective: The purpose of this study was to figure out early childhood teachers’
perception on rights of young children and what they do to implement the perceived
rights of young children in early childhood settings.
Methods: Two individual and two group interviews were conducted. First,
individual interviews were held with one childcare center teacher, and then
interviews were held with one kindergarten teacher. Both group interviews were
conducted with three different kindergarten teachers. All interviews were held two
times. Recorded and transcribed interview data were analyzed.
Results: The results are as follows. First, participants perceived rights as natural,
protective, expressive, equally respectful, and joyful but understood differently from
that of adults due to developmental status of young children, which included rights
to life, equality, participation, protection, and happiness. Second, teachers remarked
that they used strategies to project young children’s emotions to implement
perception on rights to life and happiness, discern deprivation from violation for
rights to protection and equality, and set rules and have double standards utilizing
resources around, for rights to participation.
Conclusion/Implications: These results have implication for organizing contents
for rights education for early childhood teachers.