New research from UWE Bristol is calling for stronger and more consistent support for children’s participation within Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Wales, highlighting clear opportunities to embed children’s rights and voice more meaningfully into everyday classroom practice.
The findings are published in a new policy briefing from the Children’s Participation in Schools project, which examines how well ITE programmes prepare new teachers to support children’s participative rights – a core expectation of the Curriculum for Wales and the Welsh Government’s commitment to a rights-based education system Policy Briefing ITE.
Why this matters now
Wales has positioned itself as a global leader in children’s rights, with the Curriculum for Wales placing children’s agency, voice and participation at the heart of teaching and learning. This policy briefing arrives at a critical moment, offering timely insights into how teacher education can further strengthen this ambition in practice.
Over a 12-month period, the research team worked with ITE students and teacher educators across Wales, using enquiry-based workshops and focus groups to explore how children’s participative rights are understood, taught and enacted in both university-based and school-based teacher education.
Key findings
The research found strong alignment between the values of the Curriculum for Wales and participatory pedagogy, with teacher educators recognising the importance of children’s participation in learning. However, the briefing also highlights missed opportunities within current ITE provision.
In practice, student teachers often experience children learning about human rights, rather than through participatory classroom approaches. Participatory practice is frequently limited to formal structures such as school councils or eco-committees, rather than being embedded into everyday classroom decision-making and curriculum-making.
Despite these challenges, the findings point to significant and achievable opportunities to strengthen participatory pedagogies across ITE programmes, building on existing strengths within the Welsh policy landscape.
Supporting children’s rights through teacher education
Associate Professor Sarah Chicken, Principal Investigator for the Children’s Participation in Schools project, said:
“As Principal Investigator for the Children’s Participation in Schools Project, I am delighted to present the findings from our final phase, which examines how Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Wales can further strengthen children’s participation in classroom practice.
Our findings come at an especially exciting time for education in Wales. The Welsh Government’s commitment to a rights-based education system—reflected in the Curriculum for Wales, which places children’s participation and agency at its core—provides a strong and progressive foundation for this work. Wales is uniquely well positioned to lead the way in embedding children’s participative rights through everyday pedagogical practice.
While our research indicates that participation is not yet consistently foregrounded within all aspects of ITE, it also highlights significant and achievable opportunities to enhance this focus across university-based and school-based provision. These opportunities reflect the strengths already present within the Welsh policy landscape and signal promising avenues for further professional learning among teacher educators.
I hope that this briefing will support ITE providers and wider partners as we collectively build on the Welsh Government’s vision—ensuring that children’s rights, voice and participation are not only valued, but actively realised throughout teaching and learning in Wales.”
Recommendations for policy and practice
The policy briefing sets out a series of recommendations aimed at supporting ITE providers, teacher educators and policymakers to strengthen children’s participation in classrooms across Wales. These include ensuring that ITE programmes actively support the development of participatory pedagogies, expanding professional learning opportunities for teacher educators, and aligning accreditation and inspection processes more closely with the expectations of the Curriculum for Wales.
By focusing on everyday classroom practice – rather than participation as a standalone activity – the briefing highlights how children’s rights can be realised consistently and meaningfully throughout teaching and learning.
Read the policy briefing
The full policy briefing is available to read online:
- Read the policy briefing (English)
- Darllenwch y briff polisi (Cymraeg)
Find out more about the Children’s Participation in Schools project: