Aspects of Children Participation - Coursework Example

Introduction According to the recent theoretical developments children’s participation is an important feature in child-centric services. Adults have so far held children to be immature in deciding for themselves and hence any attempt to involve them in the decision making process in services for children have not been thought of. But there has been a change in the perspective of theories regarding child psychology that shows children as individuals with a strong mind, opinion and confidence that they can do well as decision makers (Atwool, p. 264). Moreover it has been observed through interaction with children that they want to be consulted when it concerns their good and progress. But the whole process of children participation needs to be conducted under the supervision of a skilled facilitator with sound knowledge on the theories and principles of participation. The essay discusses the different aspects of children participation and focuses on the skill, knowledge and principles that must be used in ensuring child participation in the design, delivery and evaluation of children services. Knowledge that is essential to conduct children participation programs Before starting with the planning of children participation programs it is important to do one’s homework in gathering adequate knowledge about children participation practices. One needs to know the conceptual basis of children participation, its significance and meaning in relation to child psychology, role of the adult facilitator and the parents, the possible hindrances, governmental policies on rights of children and a clear idea about previous attempts of child participation programs. The main purpose of developing a good knowledge base is to be able to understand the requirements of children for participation and thereby reach out to them and involve them to participate. Children’s participation and its meaning An adult service provider and facilitator of services for children, needs to have good knowledge of what children participation means. He must be aware of participation as the active involvement of children by sharing out their thoughts and ideas, voicing their opinions and expressing their views. It must be at all levels irrespective of age, social or physical condition of children. It is the ethical responsibility of the service facilitator to ensure that the children in question get proper chance to participate even if they come from marginalised background or are physically or mentally challenged. According to Kirby and Bryson (p. 10) participation for children means being involved in sharing experiences through surveys or focus groups, being members of student councils or working as student researchers and being part of ‘integrated daily participatory approaches’ like ‘democratic schooling’. Therefore it signifies different levels of participation on the part of children. In this respect the government as well as private organisations have set up service delivery programmes where focusing chiefly on the participation of children in decision making and execution of plans with minimum adult guidance. The project undertaken by the Cardiff Sure Start centre allowed children to make plans and programs for carrying out the assignment of making a new sensory room. Adults were endowed with the responsibility of recording the children’s degree of involvement without interference (Leverett, p. 165). Role of the facilitator The adult facilitator needs to have a thorough understanding of his role in the entire program that is a compulsory and an essential requirement for the children’s participation project. The concept of children participation has deeper implications and demands special consideration. Therefore the project of involving children to participate needs to be well structured in the form of a developmental process. As a result certain aspects need to be stressed upon for the smooth running of the program. There needs to be proper and adequate resources, children are given equal opportunities and their opinions taken seriously and finally policies are to be framed, evaluated and improved on a regular basis (Badham & Wade, p. 8). According to Mark Campion “The participation agenda is really about making sure that children and young people’s voices are heard. That the things they feel about their life, their schooling in particular in my case, that the adults who are responsible for delivering services to them, listen to their views and use their views to improve and shape the services that they deliver.”(From DVD transcript) Kinds of barriers in participation and levels of participation While planning out the participation strategy for involving children there needs to be a clear cut understanding of where participation ends and non-participation begins. In the version of a young person, all the hype about involving children to participate in decision making process is nothing but “…campaigning for the Government to make it seem they’re doing something worthwhile” (quoted in Stafford et al, p. 365). Hart’s hierarchical model on the degree of participation graphically explains the transition from non-participatory modes to genuine participation. It helps to locate non-participatory aspects in the children participation programs. The lowest rungs of Hart’s hierarchical ladder consist of manipulation, decoration and tokenism. In all of these, children are used in the wrong sense of participation. They are utilised by adults to serve their own ends without paying heed to the child’s opinions and views. There has been instances when a child was interviewed but nothing of her views were published; instead her life story was printed (McNeish et al, p. 61). These experiences as shared by the children show that they are very much ‘aware of tokenism’ (Alderson, p. 93) and being used by the adults as symbols of their apparent commitment to ensure children participation (Hart, p. 42). Keeping in mind certain contexts like the school where children cannot get complete say over decision making Treseder has developed his context-specific model that focuses on the degree of children involvement in the children participation projects. There are other implicit factors like differences between children as individuals, belonging to different ethnicities, genders and physical or mental conditions and each of their respective areas of strengths and abilities according to which they would differ in their participation levels (Lansdown, p. 14). However it has been observed that ‘peer support’ (Kirby et al, p. 97) plays an important role in motivating children to participate in different child-centric and community service projects. Importance of children’s participation This sudden emphasis on children participation in the design, delivery and evaluation of children services is to develop in children good social and communication skill (Taylor cited in Leverett, p. 163) and the ability to speak out their thoughts, help in building their confidence, help to make children ‘politically aware’ (Kellet et al cited in Leverett, p. 163) and to help them learn and exhibit their social skills and resources. It is also an attempt to tell the parents and care givers that children are to be consulted especially when it is in relation to their well being and finally it upholds child protection. In a way it seeks to empower children (Leverett, p. 163) and it is also a reality that empowerment would follow from successful participation (Shephard & Treseder, p. 4). Direct participation would help the children to understand their psychological, social and political orientation and have better control of their lives (Thompson, p. 120). Principles While planning out children participation programs it is essential to adhere to certain principles that ensure unhindered involvement of children to participate in children services. At the theoretical level policies have been developed that are based on the principles of child protection, provision, natural and social rights of children. There also need to be the principle of a child-centric approach and professionalizing of the participation program to prevent it from being chaotic and aimless in practice. One needs to work on children’s participation adhering to these principles. Policy base The concept of children’s participation is based on various theories about children. Vygotsky claims that children learn by interaction with adults. The theoretical basis along with the UN policy of participation as a natural right that focuses on the three aspects of child protection, provision and participation has facilitated the process of involving children in practice. In this purpose the participatory process have been structured to give children the scope to plan and execute under the guidance of an adult. It has been made into a policy to seek the opinions of and also makes the service users part of the participation programs so that their valued feedback could be consulted for further developing participation programs. Child-centric in nature The planning of the participation program and its execution needs to be based on the principles concerning the right to participation of all, listening to children and valuing their opinions; treating them without any discrimination on the basis of class, race, gender or physical attribution, involving everyone of the children without being partial to a few, each of their individual specific abilities must be encouraged and given a chance to flourish. It is very important that the adult starts off a dialogue with the child while initiating the child into the participation program (Leverett, p. 171). Peter Duncan shares his experiences about working in a condition where the whole program has no proper principle to work on and therefore it lacked the right kind of objectives. He comments “There are a whole range of problems in provoking a greater level of participation – sometimes the adults are very scared about what might happen – sometimes its just unusual for the young people – don’t think it’s a real opportunity so they sometimes mess around until they believe its real – sometimes people want a consultation but haven’t actually got any resources or anywhere to go with it…” (From audio transcript) Professional approach In the recent years there has been this effort to make the program professional by appointing skilled facilitators and also scientifically structuring the participation program by introducing ‘structured conversation’, ‘supported conversation’, ‘puppetry’, ‘line drawing of facial expressions’ and ‘art and craft’ (Leverett, p. 189). But at the same time for younger or mentally retarded children who could not have a grasp of them (Mahony & Hayes, p. 12) alternative methods were applied. The concept and practice of ‘circle time’ happens to be the most effective form of involving children to participate that develops social awareness in them by interacting with others (Tait, p. 24). During the circle time adults are not to scold children but meet with them on equal terms, empathize with them and explain to them (Leverett, p. 191). But whatever be the participatory methods it is important for them to meet the immediate context (Kirby & Gibbs, p. 215). Necessary skills Depending on the demands of the participation program, the adult facilitators need to be skilled. He is clear about the role he is to play to bring about optimum participation level. He needs to be a good listener, gives everyone the fair chance to speak rather giving them voice, have a sensitive approach, give space to children to express themselves without being pressurized, build up inclusive atmosphere (Phil Treseder, qouted in audio transcript), be non-patronizing, respect their communication and also be a genuine listener and also learning from one’s mistakes, working as a team (Peter Duncan, quoted in audio transcript). Duncan has further commented on giving children protection and support and at the same time looking after oneself as the task could be tiresome. The facilitator above all must possess good communication and interactive skills. He must be able to draw the child out from any inhibitions and build an inclusive, interdependent adult-child relationship (Leverett, p. 174). He must know how to use ‘activity-based, spontaneous problem solving models’ (Taylor cited in Leverett, p. 190) for children to work on and also must be an expert in dealing with rough children. For example a skilled service facilitator instead of reprimanding a child would use verbal tactics like “Remember, talking stops us from hearing what others are saying is better than: Damien, it’s very rude to talk when someone else is speaking!” (Tait, p. 25). He is to have a professional approach and would be able to dissociate himself from children’s activity. To this end he would see that no one is ridiculed and that ‘everyone has a right to pass’ (Leverett, p. 193). Finally the skills that describe an ideal facilitator are the ability to inform, advise, activate, enable, observe and abstain. Conclusion In conclusion it might be said that involving children to participate in children services is a commendable attempt. It would not only make it easier to understand the difficulty and problems faced by the children from themselves but at the same time empower children to express their own viewpoints. In respect to these objectives the participation program has been constantly updated through policies and modifications and at the same time the whole process has been given a professional look with employing skilled professionals to provide guidance to children who are participating. It is most important to have proper knowledge of the background, the principles and the skills required for planning children participation projects in order to apply it to ensure uninterrupted participation of children in the design, delivery and evaluation of children services. Works Cited Alderson, P. Young Children’s Rights: Exploring Beliefs, Principles and Practice, London, Jessica Kingsley 2000 Atwool, N. ‘Participation in decision-making: the experience of New Zealand children in care’, Child Care in Practice, vol. 12, no. 3, 2006, pp. 259–267. Badham, B. and Wade, H. Hear By Right: Standards for the Active Involvement of Children and Young People (revised edn), Leicester, National Youth Agency and Local Government Association 2005 Hart, R. Childrens Participation: The Theory and Practice of Involving Young Citizens in Community Development and Environmental Care, London, Earthscan 1997 Kellett, M., Forrest, R., Dent, N. and Ward, S. ‘“Just teach us the skills please, we’ll do the rest”: empowering ten-year-olds as active researchers’, Children & Society, vol. 18, no. 1, 2004, pp. 329–343. Kirby, P. and Bryson, S. Measuring the Magic? Evaluating and Researching Young People’s Participation in Public Decision-making, London, Carnegie Young People Initiative 2002 Kirby, P. and Gibbs, S. ‘Facilitating participation: adults’ caring support roles within child-to-child projects in schools and after-school settings’, Children & Society, vol. 20, no. 3, 2006, pp. 209–222. Kirby, P., Lanyon, C., Cronin, K. and Sinclair, S. Building a Culture Of Participation. Involving Children and Young People in Policy, Service Planning, Delivery and Evaluation, London, DfES. 2003 Lansdown, G. Promoting Children’s Participation in Democratic Decision Making, Florence, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. 2001 Leverett, S. Children’s Participation. Connecting with Children: Developing Working Relationships. Pp 161-203 Mahony, K. and Hayes, N. In Search of Quality: Multiple Perspectives, Executive Summary, Dublin, Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education 2006 McNeish, D., Downie, A., Newman, T., Webster, A. and Brading, J. The Participation of Children and Young People: Report for Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Health Action Zone, Ilford, Barnardo’s 2000 Shephard, C. and Treseder, P. Participation: Spice it Up! Practical Tools for Engaging Children and Young People in Planning and Consultation, Cardiff, Achub y Plant/Save the Children. 2002 Stafford, A., Laybourn, A., Hill, M. and Walker, M. ‘“Having a say”: children and young people talk about consultation’, Children & Society, vol. 17, no. 5, 2003 pp. 361–373. Tait, M. ‘Circle time’, Montessori International, July–September, 2005 pp. 24–26. Taylor, M.J. Going Round in Circles: Implementing and Learning from Circle Time, Slough, National Foundation for Educational Research 2003 Thompson, N. Understanding Social Work: Preparing for Practice, Basingstoke, Palgrave 2000 Audio transcript of Children Participation DVD transcript of Children Participation Read More