Early childhood professionals and children’s rights: tensions and possibilities around the United Nations General Comment No. 7 on Children’s Rights

Young children’s views are heard rarely in public debates and are often subordinated to adults’ views. This article examines how early childhood staff could support and enhance young children’s participation in public decision making. We argue that when early childhood staff use their expertise in young children’s physical, social and cognitive development to facilitate consultations with young children, they are likely to reinforce the view that young children are unable to form and express their own views. Whatever their intentions, this weakens the notion of children’s rights and undermines young children’s participation in public decision making. In contrast, when staff use their expertise in child development to collaborate with young children, new social structures can emerge in which everyone’s voice is heard. This approach reaffirms staff’s status as experts, but redefines their expertise. Instead of being experts acting on behalf of children, staff become equitable collaborators with children, advancing citizenship for all.     

Evaluating Children’s Participation in SEN Procedures: Lessons for educational psychologists

This paper reports the findings from a study of the participation of children with special educational needs (SEN) in decision‐making about their needs in a sample of mainstream schools which were self‐selected for having promising practices. The findings show promising practices in eliciting views, the importance of a school participation ethos and inconsistencies between policy and practices. The study also illustrates the complexity and challenge of consulting and sharing decision making with children and young people. The outcomes are discussed in terms of educational psychologists becoming involved in research and in supporting whole school developments of participation practices.     

Participation in science and technology: young people’s achievement‐related choices in late‐modern societies

Young people’s participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a matter of international concern. Studies and careers that require physical sciences and advanced mathematics are most affected by the problem and women in particular are under‐represented in many STEM fields. This article views international research about young people’s relationships to, and participation in, STEM subjects and careers through the lens of an expectancy‐value model of achievement‐related choices. In addition it draws on sociological theories of late‐modernity and identity, which situate decision‐making in a cultural context. The article examines how these frameworks are useful in explaining the decisions of young people – and young women in particular – about participating in STEM and proposes possible strategies for removing barriers to participation.     

The last place to look: the place of pupil councils within citizen participation in Scottish schools

This article critically examines pupil councils as a means of developing pupils’ citizenship participation. It draws on findings across two research projects. The first study is a mixed method study commissioned by Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) that reviews the range of participatory activities in Scottish schools and their contribution to Scotland’s major curriculum revision, the Curriculum for Excellence (CFE). The second is a longer ethnographic study examining young people’s experience of participation projects in more detail. The findings lend strength to the argument that pupil councils as a stand-alone approach are not an effective means of citizenship participation. When pupil councils are complemented by other participation activity across spheres of school interaction, young people’s understanding of and interest in participation can be greatly enhanced. The article examines the cross curricular linkages schools are making, the barriers that impede such linkages and the benefits derived from successful coordinated approaches in light of criteria for ‘graduated participation’ developed through decades of work internationally on children’s participation.     

A critical appraisal of four approaches which support teachers’ problem‐solving within educational settings

This paper critically appraises four problem‐solving approaches, based on a range of theoretical perspectives and procedures, which are currently used in educational settings to support adults to find solutions to complex problems that arise within classrooms and the wider school community. The four approaches are: Circles of Adults; Teacher Coaching; Collaborative Problem‐solving Groups; the Staff Sharing Scheme. The principle aim of all of these interventions is to enable school staff to generate solutions to problems so that children and young people who are causing concern are perceived in ways which lead to more constructive actions and outcomes. A second aim is to build the capacity of those working in schools by developing their skills and self confidence as problem‐solvers and decision‐makers; the assumption being that they will be more able to solve similar problems in the future largely on their own, without the need for extensive external support. The paper then considers the relative strengths and limitations of each approach in relation to practice.     

Young people’s views about their involvement in decision‐making

This paper reports on research conducted over a two‐year period in a large Educational Psychology Service (EPS) in England. Researchers were keen to ascertain the views of young people and EPS members about young people being directly involved in educational decision‐making and how their genuine involvement in such decision‐making might be best achieved. Focus groups were employed as a means of gathering data which were analysed using Content Analysis. Young people and EPS members ultimately identified “culture”, “attitudes”, “environment”, and “systems” as being the most important factors in ensuring the genuine involvement of young people in decision‐making.     

Exploring identities to deepen understanding of urban high school students' sexual health decision‐making

Sexual health is a controversial science topic that has received little attention in the field of science education, despite its direct relevance to students' lives and communities. Moreover, research from other fields indicates that a great deal remains to be learned about how to make school learning about sexual health influence the real‐life choices of students. In order to provide a more nuanced understanding of young people's decision‐making, this study examines students' talk about sexual health decision‐making through the lens of identities. Qualitative, ethnographic research methods with twenty 12th grade students attending a New York City public school are used to illustrate how students take on multiple identities in relation to sexual health decision‐making. Further, the study illustrates how these identities are formed by various aspects of students' lives, such as school, family, relationships, and religion, and by societal discourses on topics such as gender, individual responsibility, and morality. The study argues that looking at sexual health decision‐making—and at decision‐making about other controversial science topics—as tied to students' identities provides a useful way for teachers and researchers to grasp the complexity of these decisions, as a step toward creating curriculum that influences them. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47:742–762, 2010     

Enhancing participation in primary school and class councils through visual communication

In the context of citizenship education, many UK primary schools have recently set up school councils. Previous research has overlooked the importance of exploring communicative practices specific to school councils and the implications for children's participation. This paper draws on an action‐orientated research project with teachers in three Norfolk primary schools, which began with ethnographic observation of school and class council meetings. By developing alternative visual strategies for facilitating communication in meetings (based on a methodology known as PRA), teachers were able to encourage involvement by more children and enable them to have a greater voice in decision‐making. We argue that the common focus on adult procedures in school councils puts the emphasis on teaching children about their future role as citizens and can limit children's ownership of decision‐making processes. The alternative is to create contexts in which children have a sense of the democratic purposes of their school council in the here and now, by providing children with means (such as the visual strategies) that are consistent with those purposes and prioritizing action as an end.     

Consulting About Consulting: Young people’s views of consultation

The increasing recognition that children and young people should be consulted and involved in decision‐making about their lives is reflected in national and international legislation. A great deal of this legislation, stemming from the UN convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), requires education authorities to consult children and young people when making decisions about their education. However, little is known about how children and young people themselves would like consultation to proceed. This study held four focus groups of young people with and without Additional Support Needs (ASN) to address this question. The young people came up with many suggestions which can be used to guide future consultation work, but the main message was one of individual choice. Children and young people want to be consulted but the consultation should be tailored to their individual needs if it is to be truly successful. There are lessons to be learned for EPs and other professionals who regularly seek the views of children and young people.     

Violence in schools and representations of young people: a critique of government policies in France and England

This paper examines media discourses in France and in Britain relating to young people, violence and disaffection in schools, setting these within the framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which emphasises young people’s participation rights. It analyses policy initiatives developed since 1997 in each country to address concerns about young people, disaffection and violence, examining these in the light of research evidence. It considers how public policies are variously shaped by research findings and by media representations. In France, attempts to reduce violence in schools have been accompanied by recognition that schools structurally produce disaffection and violence. In England there has been a shift in policy discourses. In 1997 the primary emphasis was social inclusion, but greater weight has since been given to the need to combat crime. (Male) youth disaffection is linked to crime. Policies addressing standards and achievement have been prioritised over policies to combat social exclusion. In both countries researchers and the media give particular attention to urban communities where minority ethnic communities live. Individual schools are labelled as failing and large numbers of young people are excluded or marginalised. In both countries minority ethnic students are over‐represented among those formally excluded from mainstream education and in the least popular, most stigmatised, schools and classes. Violence and disadvantage are effectively institutionalised. Discourses in each country are racialised and disaffection is associated with minorities. Yet both countries offer universalist rather than targeted policy responses. Opportunities for student participation in school decision‐making are limited.     

Young people’s participation: is disaffection another way of having a voice?

In this study, young people, described by teachers as being disaffected, were encouraged to become involved in a public forum to discuss issues regarding participation, learning and training at their school as well as their aspirations about the future. The young people discussed their learning and social experiences, and reflected on existing models of participation and student voices as they operated in their school. Through focus group discussions and interviews, the young people expressed concerns about participation in school matters and critiqued the curriculum as irrelevant to their aspirations and employment needs. The young people favoured a form of participation that involves and sustains informal ways of having a voice and creates possibilities for being genuinely listened to. The findings suggested that to enable young people’s participation in learning and other aspects of school life, the curriculum, learning and pastoral support and the school‐to‐training transition require re‐thinking. Finally, the results reinforced the view that inclusion and participation are not unproblematic, requiring a nuanced approach.     

Pupils as partners in education decision‐making: responding to the legislation in England and Ireland

Enabling pupils with special educational needs to participate more fully in the assessment, planning and evaluation of their own learning has become a principle enshrined within the legislation of many countries in recent years. Educational policy in both England and the Republic of Ireland has recognised the desirability of increased pupil involvement, and this is reflected in policy documents and in legislation which highlights the requirement of schools to take greater account of the views of pupils. This paper documents the approaches to increased pupil involvement in decision‐making adopted in England and Ireland and provides an overview of the key challenges that face policy‐makers and educators in ensuring meaningful participation for children and young people with special educational needs.     

Unleashing student potential through democratic participation in decision making: controversies and prospects

The idea of students participating in decisions that affect them as individuals, organisations and/or communities is recent and urgent. The participation of students in decision making has gained global support, yet it does not seem to be regarded as a main vehicle for promoting democracy in educational institutions. This conceptual paper aims at demonstrating the difficulties perceived to hinder student participation in educational institutions. It further proposes strategies that may favour the increased and improved involvement of students in decision making processes. The reviewed literature on student participation informing this article highlights positive outcomes from engaging students as decision makers in education.     

Policy Options for Early Childhood: A Model for Decision Making

There is a substantial and documented need for policies to provide comprehensive health, social work, and early education services for young children and their families. Public subsidies to support other enterprises deemed in the public interest are public transportation, higher education, and social security. Childcare would seem to be another such responsibility. The majority of parents with children under the age of five are in the work force, there is documentation of the importance of early experience to brain growth, and further evidence that current child care provisions are often mediocre to poor. This article presents a decision making matrix, which displays major policy options for early childhood and a range of criteria by which to judge the relative efficacy of those options. Several special issues connected with the decision making are discussed.     

Young people,social capital and network‐based educational decision‐making

This paper explores whether and in what ways young people's perceptions and experiences of higher education (HE) can facilitate the transmission within their social networks of social capital both upwardly (from child to parent) and horizontally (from sibling to sibling), and thus can potentially provide bridging capital to family members, especially in families with little or no prior experience of HE. It utilises data from a project that explored the embedded nature of decision‐making about HE amongst a group of ‘potentially recruitable’ adults and their wider networks. The study researched 16 networks, and the resultant sample of 107 individuals included six teenagers and 15 young people in their twenties. The paper concludes that, despite the general emphasis within existing theoretical approaches to network capital on the downward transmission of social capital, the educational experiences of younger generations can be critical in shaping the perceptions of other (including older) network members, albeit not always in ways that encourage formal educational participation.     

Children's rights and special educational needs: findings from research conducted for the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People

This article describes recent research conducted on behalf of the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People. The study highlights a number of emerging issues including: limited decision‐making opportunities for children; statementing and assessment; and other issues specific to mainstream and special schools. The article concludes with an assessment of recent developments and future prospects for children and young people who experience learning difficulties.     

‘In most supermarkets food does not cost £3 per day …’ The impact of the school food voucher scheme during COVID-19

Households with children eligible for Free School Meals are at risk of food insecurity. This paper reports on a rapid-response study that investigated the impact of the school food voucher scheme during the COVID-19 crisis on young people, families and schools. It pays close attention to the reliance of the state on the goodwill of society and its citizens in feeding those most in need. The Capabilities Approach is used to highlight factors that inhibited and restricted the use of the vouchers to produce the capability of having good nutrition for children in need of Free School Meals. The approach moves towards creating a society where children and young people are able to lead a life of their own choice and contribute to key policy decisions. This qualitative study funded by the British Education Research Association was conducted between September 2020 and March 2021. The study posed two research questions: (1) how have schools responded to COVID-19 in relation to food during holiday provision; and (2) what have families identified as barriers to accessing the school food voucher scheme? Data collection involved online interviews with young people, schools and organisations (i.e. public health, director from the food industry. etc.). The findings highlight the difficulties with accessing and using the school food voucher and implications for future policy directions. Owing to this being a small-scale study, it is not generalisable to the wider population but does highlight localised issues.     

Re‐engaging disaffected youth through physical activity programmes

It is a cherished belief within physical education and sport communities that participation in sport/physical activity has the potential to offer young people a range of physical, psychological and social benefits. More recently in the UK, this belief has become prominent in government policies that, among other things, are seeking to re‐engage disaffected young people in order to increase their life chances and minimise the impact of anti‐social behaviours upon others. Yet, the link between physical activity interventions and developing pro‐social behaviours is not straightforward, and there is a lack of credible research evidence to support many of the claims made for physical activity to or to inform decisions about effective intervention design. This paper reviews key literature, focusing particularly on disaffected young people and physical activity interventions in the school context, and identifies six key issues that, we would argue, warrant consideration when planning physical activity programmes to re‐engage disaffected young people. In particular, it is argued that the unprecedented levels of public and private funding available for physical activity related programmes in the UK, and the high expectations placed upon them to deliver specific measurable outcomes, mean that the need for credible monitoring and evaluation is pressing.     

Children and young people's views on institutional safety: It's not just because we're little

The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has set in motion a number of systemic and organizational approaches to identify and respond to child sexual abuse. These include increased child abuse awareness, developing and enhancing child-safe organizational cultures and policies and more thorough screening and supervision of staff in child and youth serving organizations. Although these advances should be applauded, many of the concerns that children and young people have raised about interpersonal safety have not been fully addressed. There is therefore a risk that children’s physical, relational, generational, and organizational powerlessness are reinforced through child-safe practices that restrict their meaningful participation, ignore their agency and capacity and fail to respond to their felt safety needs or wishes. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research project conducted with 121 Australian children and young people and presents their perspectives on issues of vulnerability and the ways that they would like adults and institutions to respond to their safety concerns. The value of adult-child alliances, of formal mechanisms that are child-friendly and accessible and having external agencies monitor and review institutional strategies to preventing harm are discussed.