The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) was crucial to the definition of children’s right to participate. According to article 12, children have the right to express their opinion about all matters affecting them, having it taken into account. Children’s right to participate has gained ground in different scientific domains, being consensually described as a key aspect in educational quality (Sheridan, 2007). Nonetheless, limited empirical evidence still exists on this topic (Moss, 2006). We conducted a systematic review of research on children’s right to participate, in the field of social sciences, aiming to map peer-reviewed empirical research conducted in ECE settings, from 1980 on. More specifically, we identified (a) countries and areas in which research has been conducted; (b) main definitions and theoretical backgrounds underpinning children’s right to participate, and (c) type of studies, measures, and results obtained. The search strategy followed the ‘Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses (PRISMA) Statement’ (Liberati et al., 2009). Thirty-six studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings suggest a limited number of empirical peer-review publications, conducted mostly in northern Europe countries, in the education field. Regarding definitions and theoretical backgrounds, sociological, legal, democratic, and educational discourses converge. There is a prominence of qualitative studies, focusing on either ideas or practices to promote participation, and a greater emphasis on teacher’s perspectives and practices. Future research should focus on children’s perspectives and experiences about this right, including multiple informants simultaneously. It should also focus on instruments to measure the implementation of this right in ECE. Associations between children’s right to participate and specific individual developmental outcomes should be investigated, allowing to bridge gaps between conceptual frameworks and empirical evidence. We expect to contribute to a deeper understanding of available research on children’s right to participate in ECE settings.

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Right to participate,early childhood education,peer reviewed,systematic review