Abstract
International Perspectives and Empirical Findings on Child Participation furnishes an interdisciplinary approach and it involves experts from education, family conflict studies, child protection, criminal proceedings and the wider public sphere. It brings together twenty-nine authors from for example, law, social work, education, political science, psychology and social policy backgrounds. Furthermore, the volume covers experiences and practices from seven different countries. In short, it is quite a task that the editors have set out to accomplish, but they are successful in their aspirations.
Part I explores children’s participation in special education and research and its first two chapters are empirical examinations of children’s participation in Canada and Israel respectively. Then from England there is an interesting study of important factors addressing the involvement of children in research processes. Part II illuminates children’s participation in family disputes and it features one of the few cross-country studies in the book, examining the legal frameworks in Ireland and New Zealand. From Canada an analysis of the judicial interviews of children is presented and this is followed by an examination of a structured child participation model used in Israeli family courts. All three studies give encouragement to those committed to pursuing UNICEF’s ‘child-friendly court procedures’ project.
Part III explores a contested area – children’s participation involving children at risk. Three studies of children placed in out-of-home care in Australia and in the USA (North Carolina and Vermont) reveal a rather bleak picture in respect of the participatory role of the children studied, but there are more encouraging indications of the potential transformations that might be made. In addition, a large-scale action research study of children’s participation throughout Australia highlights how professionals’ perceptions and understanding had a decisive impact on how children were provided with opportunities to participate. Significant here is the role played by educators and trainers in prompting the evolution of perceptions of practitioners – this seems to have resulted in practices leading to more participation by children.
Part IV dwells on child participation in criminal proceedings in the USA. Greater participation has appeared to contribute to youths, in some instances, appearing to develop more self-respect and satisfaction on account of their being encouraged to take part in the decision-making process. The opposite is revealed in a study of young people’s involvement in the juvenile system with ‘participation’, in reality, being a much more tokenistic endeavour. The final chapter in this section focuses on children with incarcerated parents and it suggests that children’s enhanced participation in the process of reintegrating the parent into the family and society provides strength and healing for the child.
Part V analyses child participation in the public sphere and explores the more overtly ‘political’ dimension to children’s participation. A study of children’s participation in public decision-making in Northern Ireland emphasises the impact of face-to-face interaction with policy makers and, from Scotland, there are important insights from the Scottish Youth Parliament. Children’s involvement in the international monitoring process of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is presented, and finally we learn from exploited Haitian girls how they urgently need to voice their opinions and to be genuinely heard in matters concerning their lives, difficulties and potential opportunities.
International Perspectives and Empirical Findings on Child Participation is a weighty and comprehensive contribution to the social work and social policy literature. In terms of the format, the introductory and concluding chapters are cogently framed and explain the many chapters and themes. The decision to conclude by focusing on five themes to better convey the main findings, derived from the various empirical and conceptual discussions, is also wise. More broadly, this edited volume is an impressive and important piece of work. Children’s participation is put on the agenda and we are given a comprehensive overview of how, when and why children participate in an array of sectors and arenas in many different parts of the world. This is a book that provides a number of conceptual innovations and it breaks new empirical ground. It should be obligatory reading for all of us interested in promoting the rights of children.