Abstract

Political agendas are deeply embedded in Early Childhood Education (ECE) with regard to the extent of technical and organizational detail, as well as the curriculum, learning spaces, relationships between protagonists, and quality of care extended to children. This embeddedness of politics is problematic, especially when the rights of children are sacrificed or curbed in favor of economic gain. This article is concerned with finding a way to offer children as many opportunities for democratic participation as possible within the confines of a larger political context. The article proposes a framework of four key principles for democratic education in ECE: participation, alternative worldviews, equal rights and access, and individuality nested within communality. This framework of four key interconnected principles of democratic education could be a useful tool for teachers to assess their ECE programs against, helping locate pockets of opportunity for children’s democratic expression of rights. Due to its nature, emergent curriculum could become a point of resistance and the ultimate act of democracy in ECE. For this purpose, the proposed framework will be used to showcase the validity and applicability of the emergent approach as a point of resistance and an act of democracy.