Transcript Document

Children and young people’s
experiences of participation in
decision-making at home, in
schools and in their communities
Horgan, D. Forde, C. Parkes, A. Martin, S. Mages, L. and
O’Connell, A.
DCYA Launch 17th June 2015
Research Question
• The aim of this study is to explore the extent to which children and
young people, aged 7-17 and living in contemporary urban and rural
Ireland, are able to participate and influence matters affecting them
in their homes, schools and communities.
• The investigative focus of the study is shaped by Lundy’s (2007)
conceptualisation of Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child, which focuses on space, voice, audience and influence.
• The objectives of this research are:
• to consider the extent to which children and young people have a voice
and influence in matters affecting them at home, in their school and in
the community where they live;
• to identify the facilitators and barriers to giving children and young
people a voice and influence in matters affecting them in each of these
settings;
• to examine the type of approaches used in each setting and identifies
examples of good practice;
• to distil key messages for consideration by parents and families, teachers,
schools and communities in Ireland.
Why?
• The focus of much child participation research has not been
on children’s everyday lives or the issues of importance as
identified by children themselves (Tuukkanen et al., 2012) but
rather on structured representative channels and participation
in public spaces.
• A focus on participation as decision-making or influence over
systems remains important, to ensure political mechanisms
become responsive to children’s demands (Wall, 2011).
• However, recognizing aspects of children’s everyday practices
as citizenship is critical in challenging dominant definitions of
citizenship, and claiming a new status for children.
• Participation, then, must be acknowledged as the everyday
and diverse and as a process of engaging in matters related to
children themselves in their daily lives.
What do we know- Children’s
Participation in the Home
• Consumption activities such as food, clothes and TV are
important for children and young people (Bjerke et al., 2011).
• For young people, issues such as how they spend free time are
of concern.
• Children appear to increase their degree of involvement in
decision making as they grow older (Bjerke et al., 2011)
• The extent to which children’s views influenced the outcome
of a decision is said to be mediated by the degree to which
parents concurred with their views (Davey et al., 2010)
• Importance for young people of parents explaining the
rationale on which a decision had been made as a means of
understanding the process rather than focusing on the
outcomes (Davey et al., 2010)
What do we know- Children’s
Participation in School
• Young people’s participation in the operation or governance of schools
is not systematic (Harris, 2009)
• Small percentage of schools report significant pupil choice in curricular
development, evaluation or school planning decisions (Cross et al.,
2009)
• Many studies point to the unrepresentative nature of student councils
and their lack of influence (Alderson, 2000; Smith, 2007; Gileece &
Cosgrove, 2012; Tisdall, 2008).
• ‘Conservative participation’ by children in schools (De Castro, 2013)
• In Ireland
• one-fifth of second-year students in Ireland had participated in decision-making
about the running of their school and fewer had taken part in discussions at
assembly or been a candidate for the student council (Cosgrove and Gilleece, 2012)
• Approx two-thirds of students reported that they were encouraged to express their
views in class, over half that they were involved in organising school events while
only 22% that they had been involved in making school rules.
• All forms of participation were lower among older students and girls were more
likely than boys to report that they took part in organising school events and were
encouraged to express their views in class.(De Roiste, 2011).
What do we know- Children’s
Participation in the Community
• Activities emphasise children and young people as active and
engaged citizens who contribute and shape community life in rich
and diverse ways (Checkoway, 2003; Jans, 2004; Percy-Smith, 2010).
• Children’s involvement in physical planning in their local
communities is limited (Kerrins et al., 2011) and often comes
towards the end of the planning process.
• Young people positive about their participation experiences were far
more likely to be involved in making decisions relating to their
communities by virtue of belonging to a local youth council/forum
or organisation (Davey et al., 2010)
• Reliance on formal mechanisms mechanisms (Vromen & Collin,
2010; Fleming, 2013).
• In the Irish context - children and young people involved in the DCYA
participation initiatives experience a range of positive impacts in
areas of personal development, social development, skills
development and career direction (Martin et al., 2015).
Data collection
3 research sites (Dublin, Sligo, Cork)
• 10 Group interviews with children aged 7-12 and 12-17
(total of 73):
• 3 groups from primary school
• 3 from second-level school
• 4 from community settings.
• 24 face to face interviews with adult stakeholders
(youth workers, school Principals, teachers,
parents)
• 4 group interviews with parents
Child-centred participative research methods
• Children and Youth advisory groups
• Identifying themes
• Developing materials
• Initial data analysis
• Pilot group
• Testing data collection instruments
• Methods included ice-breakers, games, visual and verbal methods,
drawings
• 7-12 age group:
• interactive floor mats (one for home, school and community)
• photomontage of pictures of children in various situations displayed as a
prompt to thinking about participation
• decision-making wall chart
• 12-17 age group:
• guided discussion about home, school and community
• photomontage
• an interactive wall chart to capture the areas of participants’ Internet use
Child friendly information on
Article 12 UNCRC
Decision-making chart
Home
School
Community
Findings
• most facilitative of their voice
and participation
• food, clothes, leisure, and
friends were key areas
Home
• generally accepted that
parents have greater
influence over some issues,
with increasing negotiation as
they grew older.
Findings
• most children and young people
dissatisfied with their level of input into
decision making processes in school
School
• very low expectations of schools being
participatory sites and recognised that
they had little say in anything apart from
peripheral matters in school
• viewed school as being hierarchical
institutions where even formal
participation structures, such as student
councils, were not experienced
positively.
Findings
Community
• activities – sports; youth clubs and other
activities based in community centres; nonscheduled activities including ‘doing nothing’,
‘hanging out’ with friends & going to the cinema.
• children and young people were either
ambivalent or dissatisfied with their input into
local decision making processes.
• expressed concern about a number of community
issues - crime, personal safety, education,
facilities for young people and the environment.
• those involved in youth clubs or projects were
positive about their experiences of ‘voice’
• consultation and engagement are critical
Suggestions by children and young people
Home
School
Community
Definite times and spaces
for discussion – weekly
family meetings
Participative school culture engagement in the
development of school
rules and policy and a
shared culture of respect
and inclusiveness
Facilitating access in the
community through the
location, timing of,
information about and
transport to activities,
facilities and spaces.
Parents actively listening to
children and young people
Generation of good
relationships with key
school personnel
Developmentof relationships
of respect with adults in the
community.
Explanation of the rationale
for adults’ decisions
An appropriate learning
Appealing informal, flexible
environment with good
processes of participation
facilities and small class size.
Adult recognition of
children and young people’s
agency with increasing age
and maturity
A more flexible and creative
curriculum - availability of
and access to scheduled
and unscheduled structures
for participation
Gather young people’s
views on issues of
importance to them locally
in their communities.
Dedicated youth spaces
such as youth cafés and
youth projects planned and
Conclusions
• Nuanced understanding of participation among children.
• Indicates that children and young people have varying levels
of space, voice, audience and influence from one sphere of
their lives to another but school emerges as particularly
challenging as does community to a lesser extent.
• Confirms findings elsewhere that day-to-day decisions within
the family stand out as the only area where a significant
majority of children and young people feel they are heard and
influence decisions (Burke, 2010).
• Points to the need to focus on the more ‘organic’ spaces
within everyday settings (Percy Smith, 2010) where young
people can benefit from the development of a culture of
participation and active citizenship and gradually take on more
responsibilities and active roles.