Commentary on Chapters 8 and 9

Chapters 8 and 9 address young children’s early language learning from a rights perspective, as articulated through the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In Chap. 8 , Andrea Tures argues for a cultural-historical approach to enhance young children’s individual voices in the learning process. In Chap. 9 , Sheila Degotardi and Feifei Han consider how dialogical approaches to language development may actively involve infants and young children in language learning with their educators. The originality of the two chapters stems from their challenge to the dominance of monologist approaches to young children’s language learning still prevalent in early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy contexts in many parts of the world. The authors argue that these prevailing approaches militate against young children’s rights, as children are active knowing agents navigating their everyday lives within the structures and institutions they inhabit. The discussions, arguments and approaches the authors provide could be of interest to the wider global education community.