The supranational policies of UNICEF, childhood and the education

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. Since the creation of UNICEF up to the present times, its main activity has been the development of child protection programs at a supranational scale. UNICEF is an international organization whose field of activity has been extended to the local and educational field, complementing the activity of other organizations and international programs such as UNESCO. The aim of this work is to analyze the discourse of UNICEF with regard to the childhood and its implications for the right to the education. METHOD. Analysis based on a qualitative approach of the 33 reports produced by UNICEF from 1980 up to the present times. The categories of analysis derive from both: the 4-A scheme of Katarina Tomaševski on the right to education (availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of 1989. RESULTS. The analyzed reports outlines a profile more related to one of the traditional paths in the activity of UNICEF (attention to the health, survival and protection), while other substantive aspects such as participation or civil rights have been left in a second place. Taking into account that education is a transversal theme, it is appreciated a relevant prevalence of the right to education and, to a lesser extent, of the rights in education. DISCUSSION. The obtained results show an image not in keep with the consideration of children as a subject of right, which is a basic element of the CRC, but they show the need for a protectionist discourse to safeguard the childhood and for a conception of education that goes through all the discourse of UNICEF.