Grounded in children’s rights, this article advances understanding of the affordances and constraints in implementing Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in educational settings with young children – those under 7. It starts from the premise that if we are to foster democratic skills and understanding in children and young people, we need to develop practices that support this from the earliest age. The article presents the outcomes of a seminar series facilitating dialogue among international academics working in the field and a range of early years practitioners. This opportunity for extended dialogue led to the development of a rich and sophisticated conceptual clarity about the factors that need to be considered if Article 12 is to be realised with very young children. Eight factors were identified as pivotal for consideration when facilitating voices with this age group: definition; power; inclusivity; listening; time and space; approaches; processes; and purposes. This article explores each in turn and proposes a series of provocations and questions designed to support practitioners in their endeavour to elicit young children’s voices.

中文翻译：

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看看谁在讲话：考虑促进年幼孩子的声音的因素

本文以儿童权利为基础，加深了对在有未成年子女（7岁以下）的教育环境中执行《联合国儿童权利公约》第12条的条件和限制的理解。它从以下前提开始：在儿童和年轻人中培养民主技能和理解，我们需要从最早开始发展支持这一点的实践。本文介绍了研讨会系列的成果，该系列研讨会促进了从事该领域工作的国际学者与一系列早期实践者之间的对话。扩大对话的机会导致对要想让年幼的儿童实现第12条时需要考虑的因素有了丰富而复杂的概念清晰度。在促进这一年龄段的声音时，八个因素被认为是至关重要的考虑因素：定义；力量; 包容性 听 时间和空间; 方法；过程；和目的。本文依次进行了探讨，并提出了一系列挑衅和问题，旨在支持从业人员努力激发幼儿的声音。