‘I know I am just a student but...’: the challenges for educators in supporting students to develop their advocacy skills in protecting children.

The paper presents findings from an explorative qualitative study on the experiences of students of early childhood studies and primary initial teacher training programmes in England during professional practice placements. The research examined how students’ developing advocacy skills to safeguard and protect children were enabled in response to influential factors in their professional practice environments. The role of the university as the education provider is examined in view of the experiences of academic staff in supporting students in the event of a disclosure about a child protection concern. Bourdieu’s concept of Habitus is considered in relation to the student’s position in terms of the challenges and opportunities in developing their confidence and competency in finding their place and voice to advocate for vulnerable children. Given the critical role of Early Childhood Education and Care practitioners (ECECs) and teachers in safeguarding children, this paper argues the need for more robust provision and integration of teaching advocacy within child protection studies for students as developing professionals.