Blog postPart of series:Covid-19, education and educational research

Children have a right to be involved in decisions about their future education, health and wellbeing

Carol Robinson，Edge Hill大学2021年3月24日

自Covid-19大流行的开始以来，世界各地的儿童对他们的生活有重大变化。拯救儿童（2020，第4页）报告称，全世界99％的儿童（等于超过23亿名儿童）住在186个国家之一，因为Covid-19由于Covid-19已经实施了某种形式的限制。此外，儿童基金会的研究表明，学校封闭在全球近90％的学生占学生的影响，近370万儿童依赖于未收到这些的学校餐（截至2020年7月）（联合国儿童基金会，2020年）。2021年1月，联合国儿童权利委员会报告说，过去一年的贫困儿童人数增加了1.42亿（联合国，2021，第2页）。在联合国会议的总结中，有人指出，联合国秘书长将学校的关闭对儿童产生了毁灭性的影响，并将其作为“世代灾难”（UN，2021）提到了这种情况。

在英国，最近的新闻报道还强调了对由年底学校考试造成的儿童的令人不安的影响，以及质量差，少量的食物被交付给一些儿童而不是自由学校饭菜（见例如BBC新闻，2021）。More generally, the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in ‘a complex and multifaceted context of issues and risks facing children across the UK in every area of their lives from education to health and nutrition, to protection and play’ (Unicef UK, 2020, p. 1). The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) also reported that the pandemic has resulted in pushing more children into poverty, increasing the risk of children being victims of abuse and having an overall negative impact on their mental health (EHRC, 2020). Of particular concern is that the mechanisms on which children rely for support – typically available through education, health and social systems – have been weakened since the start of the pandemic (Unicef UK, 2020, p. 1).

When making decisions at national and local levels about action to support children, consideration needs to be given to theUN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)这提出了寻求和考虑儿童观点的要求。The UNCRC applies to children from birth to 18 years and has been ratified by all countries across the world apart from America – it was ratified by the UK government in 1991. Under Article 12 there is a requirement to ‘assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child’. While there may be disagreement about whether some children are ‘capable’ or sufficiently ‘mature’ to form and express their views, what is evident is that there is an obligation to listen to children, and not taking children’s views into account is a clear contravention of Article 12.

‘While there may be disagreement about whether some children are “capable” or sufficiently “mature” to form and express their views, what is evident is that there is an obligation to listen to children, and not taking children’s views into account is a clear contravention of Article 12.’

乐动滚球然而，儿童参与讨论和决定的机会，有关对他们的影响的事项缺乏。联合国儿生司英国承认，到目前为止，儿童的声音缺席了影响他们生活的重要决策及其期货（联合国儿童基金会英国，2020，第2页）。Moreover, on a global scale, in the recent meeting of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, children were referred to as ‘the silent and silenced victims of the pandemic’, stating that ‘children must be listened to, and their proposals should be heard’ (UN, 2021).

In an effort to seek the perspective of children, the Department for Education recently opened a consultation on how GCSE, AS and A-level grades should be awarded in summer 2021 to those students expecting to sit these exams (DfE, 2021). In order to respond, however, students needed to be aware of the consultation, have the resources to respond online, and possess the literacy skills to understand the 64 questions posed. Significantly, students are not involved in the data analysis or decision-making processes. As a consequence, while this represents a positive move towards listening to children, it only partially acknowledges children’s rights under Article 12 of the UNCRC. Given the profoundly negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on children globally, the importance of children being active partners and fully involved in discussions and decisions about measures to support their future education, health and wellbeing cannot be over emphasised.

参考

BBC新闻（2021年1月13日）。免费学校用餐：母亲的“悲伤”是“卑鄙”的食物包裹。https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55641740

教育部[DFE]。（2021）。关于GCSE如何，AS和级别等级的磋商应在2021年夏季颁发.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/Attachment_data/file/953000/6743-1_gcse__as_and_a_level_grades_should_be_awarded_in_summer_2021.pdf.

Equality and Human Rights Commission [EHRC]. (2020).Children’s rights in Great Britain: Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/childrens_rights_in_great_britain_0.pdf.

救救孩子。（2020）。Protect a generation: The impact of COVID-19 on children’s lives.https://www.savethechildren.org/content/dam/usa/reports/emergency-response/protect-a-generation-report.pdf

Unicef UK. (2020).锁定儿童：冠状病毒对英国儿童的影响.https://downloads.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Unicef-UK-Children-in-Lockdown-The-Impact-of-Coronavirus-on-Children-Briefing.pdf

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child [UN]. (2021). Committee on the Rights of the Child, Eighty-Sixth session.https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/CRC/C/SR.2483

Carol Robinson, Professor

Edge Hill University

Carol Robinson is a professor of children’s rights at Edge Hill University. Her research interests combine theoretical and empirical work focusing on the voices, experiences, rights and empowerment of children and young people. A major focus of Carol’s work has been around developing insights into issues relating to children’s human rights education (HRE). She regularly receives invitations to contribute to discussions on children’s rights and voice. In October 2018 she commented on the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission draft strategy for school-based HRE and contributed to an all-party parliamentary group discussion at the House of Commons focusing on a vision for public (including school-based) legal and human rights education. Furthermore, in March 2019, following an invitation from the chair of the Care of Children in Jersey Review Panel, Carol commented on the draft law relating to the powers of the Children’s Commissioner for Jersey.