The aim of this article was to explore whether and how special education documents incorporate efforts to hear young children. The study is based on an in-depth analysis of expert assessments and individual education plans (IEP) pertaining to 17 children enrolled in early education and care (ECEC) institutions in Norway. The documents are scrutinized for explicit attempts to hear young children, as well as in-depth analysis of descriptions of children to see if the text convey efforts to include their perspectives. The findings reveal a clear absence of explicit attempts to listen to children during the assessment process. However, the assessments include information obtained from parents and ECEC regarding children's preferences and interests, suggesting an attempt to represent children's voices by proxy. Although the documents contain various descriptions of children's verbal and non-verbal expressions, these descriptions primarily serve as illustrations of their challenges. The assessments portray children as individuals with difficulties, positioning them as mere ‘cases’. At the same time, recommendations and plans for support emphasize listening to children's voices. The findings of this study suggest a need to redefine special education documents in order to listen to children's views and to incorporate alternative understandings into the assessment process.

中文翻译：

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特殊教育文件和幼儿的表达意见的权利

本文的目的是探讨特殊教育文件是否以及如何纳入倾听幼儿声音的努力。该研究基于对挪威早期教育和保育 (ECEC) 机构就读的 17 名儿童的专家评估和个人教育计划 (IEP) 的深入分析。这些文件经过仔细审查，以明确试图倾听幼儿的声音，并对儿童的描述进行深入分析，看看文本是否表达了纳入他们观点的努力。调查结果表明，在评估过程中明显缺乏倾听儿童意见的明确尝试。然而，评估包括从家长和幼儿保育中心获得的有关儿童偏好和兴趣的信息，表明试图通过代理人代表儿童的声音。尽管这些文件包含对儿童言语和非言语表达的各种描述，但这些描述主要是为了说明他们所面临的挑战。这些评估将儿童描绘成有困难的个体，将他们定位为仅仅是“个案”。同时，支持建议和计划强调倾听儿童的声音。这项研究的结果表明需要重新定义特殊教育文件，以听取儿童的意见并将其他理解纳入评估过程。