Revisiting the Role of Children’s Voice in the Reformation and Improvement of Educational Programs and Policies

This article aims to study the role and value of children’s voices in the reformation of educational programs. This study is conducted through a critical philosophical inquiry method. The ultimate purpose of this method is the improvement of educational practice. Three questions are raised in this paper: 1.Why children’s voices have historically often been neglected in relation to their life matters? 2. Why children’s voices must be heard and been considered as criteria in their life matters? 3. How can children’s voices be demarginalized and exercised in children’s educational matters for the betterment educational programs? The findings show that the total rejection of childhood and its values, a deficit conception of childhood, and inadequacy and deficiency of adults’ conception of childhood are among the most significant reasons of historical ignorance of children’s voices. Prerequisites of appealing to children’s voices include: A critical theoretical revision of adult-centered approaches of childhood, rejection of the universal notion of childhood, adopting the plurality and difference of childhood and children’s voices around the world based on various cultural climates and contexts, and adhering to the equality of children’s rights and adults. Dialogue and inquiry with children are suggested as two strategies for listening to and representing children’s voices in the reformation and improvement of educational programs and procedures. These two strategies can provide us with an access to fresh and firsthand knowledge about children and issues related to their lives.