The Role of Active Listening - Article Example

Active listening Listening is the ability to receive a message and interpret the message accurately in a communication process. It is acquiring language or what one speaks through the ears. It can also be defined as the identification of sounds of speech and converting them into words and sentences. Listening to an individual requires attention and focus. A good listener must have good listening skills to understand the message adequately. Active listening, on the other hand, is a skill acquired and developed through practice. It involves full concentration and understanding everything that is being said instead of just hearing the message. All the senses are involved, and a back to back non-verbal communication between the speaker and the listener is important to show interest. Active listening requires a five-stage process that include; receiving the message, understanding it, evaluation, always remembering and responding appropriately (LEFEVRE, 2010). Active listening is very significant to one’s daily activities from maintaining a personal relationship, acquiring and entirely handling a job, taking lecture notes and so on. It is also important in developing particular speaking skills and holistic strategies for understanding texts. Therefore, it leads to understanding facts, concepts, and ideas. Listening skills are also necessary to the employer since it leads to better customer satisfaction and greater productivity. Most importantly, it improves ones’ self-esteem and confidence, professional and academic excellence and general well-being. Most successful entrepreneurs and leaders attribute their success to active listening. Active listening is the first step in learning and the greatest building block towards success (LEFEVRE, 2010). The general context that drives policy and practice to encourage listening to children and young people has developed over the years and are still receiving support world over. The main aims of the context seek to demonstrate the critical understanding of how policy and practice have developed listening and understanding children and young people. It outlines the general importance of listening to children and young people and the consequences that come with not paying attention to them. It attempts to analyze and describe the tension between control and care and how they have influenced the development of policy and practice. Finally, the context tends to debate and investigate critical issues around listening to children and young people. The primary driving force is to produce achieving and the active younger generation who will provide better outcomes for brighter future. The priority is behind involving the younger generation in the decision-making process. Younger people should be encouraged to be independent thinkers and to be able to make a decision that affects their lives independently without interference. Therefore, oppression or discrimination should not occur at any level of the present generation based on age. Every child or younger person have the right to be heard, and the older generation must be prepared to listen to their needs and provide appropriate actions to the effect. Social and National Children and younger peoples policies must provide steps towards achieving this end (LEFEVRE, 2010). Active listening is an important area in social care, especially to make an improvement. It is important to create time and pay attention to what is being said. Social care mostly involves vulnerable people who are not able to make an appropriate decision. It encompasses protection, social work, personal care or social support to people at risk and requires special attention. Provision of social care for children and young people occur at different occasions and mostly involve child protection services and preventive support. Other social care services for young people include, fostering, children with physical disabilities, child placement, adoption, abuse and harassment, the homeless, working with young offenders as well as children with learning problems. All these categories require special help, but in these context children and young people put up for adoption will be considered. Every individual must be provided the right to live with the eligible parents, but in some circumstances the only remain to be adoption. For example, in case the state considers a child would be at risk if not adopted, the parents cannot be found or cannot provide consent due to mental disability (LEFEVRE, 2010). Child adoption involves the process by which a child is separated permanently from the biological parents and in turn becomes the legitimate and legal child to another couple. The process is bound to legal and state laws that must be taken into account during the adoption. For example, in case the state considers a child would be at risk if not adopted, the parents cannot be found or cannot provide consent due to mental disability. Every child below the age of 18 years is eligible for adoption if they fit the approval requirements. Any capable persons who fulfill the requirements of adoption is allowed to adopt a child. The people involved can be single, in a civil partnership, married or unmarried couples or the friends to the parents. The most appropriate law requires that must have a fixed home within a particular country, but most not be a citizen to adopt a child. An explicit agreement must be signed by the agency or the parents of the child and the person taking the child (LEFEVRE, 2010). Children taken up for adoption may have concerns, questions or grievances to express. A sensitive and open discussion can help them to resolve the conflicts before they lead to adverse consequences. They are a vulnerable group, who sometimes have questions about treatment, their real parents or relationships, therefore, requires active listening, empathy, trust and feedback to their questions. The greatest benefactor of an adoption process must be the child in order to achieve a healthy, caring and loving adoption process. The children and young people in this arena are critical because they require a special attention something they cannot acquire from their biological parents may be due to mental disability (LEFEVRE, 2010). Social and national policy frameworks particularly articulate the importance of listening to children and young people. All adopted children have rights too and must be treated as human. The adopting parents must thrive to create a trusting relationship with them to feel accepted. The Social policy requires that all children must be treated equally and provided with equal opportunities without discrimination. Health and safety policy, on the other hand, requires that adopted children are provided with health covers similar to all the individuals in the adopting family to improve child protection initiatives. The United Nations Convention on the Child (UNCRC) in articles 12 and 13 lays down the rights of a child. It outlines that all children have the freedom of expression in all matters and ideas of all kinds. It also highlights that parents, social workers, and practitioners must pay attention to the plights of the child. The convention specifically guards the rights of adopted child for a free and fair treatment. Listening in this context involves providing human treatment to vulnerable adopted children. It drives towards equal treatment towards adopted children without discrimination (LEFEVRE, 2010). Analysis Several barriers affect valid child adoption. All the children lined up for adoption either by parents or child protection agencies always expects to find a loving family. On many occasions, the children move from home to home due to conflicts or unfair treatment. For example, one party in a couple might decide to adopt a child while the partner is not for the decision; the result becomes conflicts and expulsion of the child from the family (LEFEVRE, 2010). The lack of public policy to support adopted children is also another barrier. Most countries have the lack or have not implemented the policies that protect the rights of an adopted child. In case they are applied, they are violated by most adopting parents (LEFEVRE, 2010). Inadequate funds to protect the children in foster/child protection services also prevent proper care to the children. For example, in many countries child protection services are provided by well wishers or religious bodies. The government budgets do not allocate a specific amount to this aid and are mostly considered as individual needs (LEFEVRE, 2010). Therefore, there is need to develop an appropriate public policy to take care particularly of the adopted children. For example, the United States of America ratified the United Nations Convention on the Child and made it part of federal laws. The Congress has also debated on the rights of the biological parents of adopted children in USA and has improved it. The government specifically budgets for the adopted children and adoption agencies and provide the funds for improvement. Another key requirement should involve a critical analysis of the adopting family to prevent movement of the children from one family to another. The background and full consent from both couples must also be obtained (LEFEVRE, 2010). The dominant voices are the children who need to be provided with opportunities and considered in planning and decision-making process. Effective listening to the children’s silent plight is the start of a new beginning. Children must be involved in the decision-making process in every decision that revolves around their lives. Many adults and old people think children should be seen and not heard. They believe children are disobedient and should not get involved in serious matters and should always remain silent especially in public places (LEFEVRE, 2010). Conclusion All are human and must be treated fairly without discrimination. Children and young people have serious grievances but get a silent ear from the parents, social workers, and practitioners. Effective listening and communication skills are essential in learning. The children of today will be the leaders and parents of the next generation. They learn from the actions the old group today and will determine their actions tomorrow. All vulnerable groups that require special attention should be considered in the decision-making the process about everything that involves their lives. Children and young people’s problems are dynamic and require critical attention. Practitioners and professionals must, therefore, pay attention not only to what they hear from the children but also what they don’t say to provide an overall understanding. It is important that children are involved in decision-making processes and strategic planning on issues that affect their lives. The relationship is critical towards obtaining active listening to children and young people. The environment of acceptance and understanding will enable the children speak their mind and achieve effective social care References LEFEVRE, M. (2010). Communicating with children and young people: making a difference. Bristol, UK, Policy Press. Read More