Children's participation: control and self-realisation in British late modernity

2000 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 304-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Prout
Author(s):  
Perpetua Kirby ◽  
Rebecca Webb

This chapter explores how Article 12 and the voice of the child are implemented. The chapter does so by making specific reference to ways in which children express themselves within two different English primary schools. The chapter introduces Article 12 as a commitment to giving due attention to children’s experiences. Using data vignettes, the chapter illustrates the value of paying attention to children by focusing on the micro moments of everyday school life. The chapter argues that children’s participation is necessarily political, suggesting that participation must be read as such and demonstrating how it is often subsumed within powerful dominant schooling discourses of conformity within different governmental climates that are regarded as beyond politics. The chapter identifies limited possibilities for transformation in the study’s research sites, discussed in terms of children achieving agency and enacting their own subjectivities. This is apparent even within the less coercive ethos of a school participating in the Rights Respecting Schools Initiative (UNICEF). The chapter argues that in order to open up possible transformational participatory spaces, adults in schools need to require opportunities to reflect together on the tensions within their own educational contexts and between supporting children’s participation and their conformity to wider schooling discourses. The chapter suggests that the provision of such opportunities will help to keep a focus on listening to children in line with the ambitions of Article 12.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104973152098484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karmen Toros

This article explores child welfare workers’ experiences of children’s participation in decision making in the child protection system. The systematic review follows the principles of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement and includes 12 peer-reviewed articles published in academic journals from 2009 to 2019. Findings indicate that children’s participation in decision making is generally limited or nonexistent. The age of the child is an important determining factor concerning whether the child is given the opportunity to participate in decision making. Potential harm for children that may result from participation is considered when deciding on whether to include a child in the decision-making process.


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