Abstract
The purposes of this study are to examine the definition of "best interests of young children" and to determine how to encourage recognition of "the rights of young children" and the principle of their best interests in nursery schools, based on the idea of Polish Educator, Janusz Korczak (1878-1942.) The concept of what is in a child's best interests was ambiguous even at the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, but its most essential point concerns "the voice of children". The questionnaire survey to nursery school teachers suggests there is a necessity to establish firmly in each nursery teacher's mind the concept of young children's rights in order to implement the ideal of "best interests." It is especially important for pre-service teachers to become aware of "the voice" of young children and to acquire professional skills to understand it.
