Keynote Presentation. Children as Agents of Change: A Multilevel Conceptual Model of Early Childhood Development and Inequality

This keynote paper discusses the theme of ‘children as agents of change’ in the context of global inequalities in early childhood development. In recent years, the care and education of young children from birth to the transitionary years to primary schooling have become very central in the field of policy and politics. Notably, for the first time in the history of the United Nations sustainable development agenda, early childhood development is included as a key target - ‘By 2030 ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education’ (Target 4.2). The paper takes a critical examination of the role of early childhood development with an explicit focus on our very youngest as competent, active participants in society. It draws on a seminal study in the cross-disciplinary field of early childhood and international development, based on a systematic review of early childhood development and peacebuilding policies in fourteen conflict-affected countries. The research showed a multilevel, ecological conceptual model of determinants of inequality which exemplified the integral role of children in the peacebuilding process. The evidence indicated that placing children at the centre of policy revealed opportunities for them as agents of change in promoting social cohesion and equality