Session Information
25 SES 07, Children's Perceptions
Paper Session
Contribution
It is increasingly acknowledged that listening to the perspectives of children can enhance the development of quality educational experiences (Rinaldi, 2006). As such, child voice, and children’s perspectives more generally, are gaining increased attention within child related professions and are being recognised as critical to an inclusive approach (Lundy, 2007). Despite the mounting evidence of its value, in many aspects of education and social provision, the child’s voice remains largely absent in educational settings. While it is well established that in developing strategies for student engagement, the inclusion of students’ perspectives enables a shared understanding, particularly in terms of what is real to children and what is important to them, Voice Inclusive Practise (VIP) is rarely present (Sargeant & Gillett-Swan, 2015). Consultation with children remains sporadic in many systems (Sargeant & Harcourt, 2012) even when considering the mandates of the UNCRC, which most countries have ratified. As such, children’s capacity to express an informed opinion remains contested by adults and subsequently unpractised by children.
This lack of opportunity to practice and demonstrate their capacity in educational settings leads the researchers to consider the extent to which children in contemporary settings are not only knowledgeable about their rights and in particular their participation rights, but also whether the mandates of the UNCRC resonate with their lifeworld priorities. The question of whether children themselves actually care about their own rights above other rights agenda such as disability, indigenous, women’s or gay rights, is a question largely ignored in the child rights discourse. Children’s Rights prioritisations may be a consequence of a prevailing ignorance in the adult community of the UNCRC and the resulting inaction of a visible rights awareness in schools that prevent children from actualising their rights. As such, because children are rarely given rights education and the opportunity to advocate on their own behalf, perhaps they are prioritising other rights agenda based primarily on media, societal and educational imperatives. If children receive scant education regarding their rights nor experience adults prioritising their rights through voice inclusive practice it is somewhat to be expected that children will give their rights limited attention. Alternatively, perhaps it is children’s altruistic predisposition (Sargeant, 2009) that leads them to place higher priority on other’s rights before their own. Sargeant, (Sargeant, 2007; 2009) revealed pre-adolescent children’s capacity to provide key insights into their value of family relationships, peer relationships, self concept, school, the environment, global inequality and global conflict. However, this capacity for children to comprehend and consider both the traditional and modern world issues remains misunderstood or unrecognised by many in the adult community (Gillett-Swan, 2013; Graham, Powell, & Taylor, 2014; Sargeant & Gillett-Swan, 2015; Graham & Fitzgerald, 2010; Lansdown, 2005).
This paper presents the findings of an online survey of children gauging their prioritisation of the various rights agenda to determine the extent to which they prioritise their own rights with the rights of others. The UNCRC (United Nations, 1989) has provided a significant platform from which to include children’s views on issues that affect their lives. It [should] provide a foundation for developing policies and making decisions about children and resonates with the sociology of childhood where children are viewed as social actors, with the agency to participate in their society, and where children contribute valid opinions. Arguing for the prioritisation of children’s participation rights in educational planning and provision, this paper provides children’s own perspectives on the presence or role of children’s rights in their thinking and explores not only the extent to which children “know” the UNCRC but also the extent to which they hold its articles and mandates as priority.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Gillett-Swan, J. K. (2013). Time to tell: The complexity of wellbeing from the perspective of tweens. Australian Catholic University, QLD (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). Graham, A., Powell, M. A., & Taylor, N. (2014). Ethical Research Involving Children: Encouraging Reflexive Engagement in Research with Children and Young People. Children & Society. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/chso.12089/full Lundy, L. (2007). “Voice” is not enough: conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. British Educational Research Journal, 33(6), 927–942. http://doi.org/10.1080/01411920701657033 Rinaldi, C. (2006). In dialogue with Reggio Emilia. London: Routledge. Sargeant, J. (2007). Children being children: the value of an “importance filter.” The Journal of Student Wellbeing, 1(1), 15–30. Sargeant, J. (2009). The altruism of pre-adolescent children’s (tweens) perspectives on “worry”and “happiness.” Vienna. Sargeant, J., & Gillett-Swan, J. K. (2015). Empowering the disempowered through voice-inclusive practice: Children’s views on adult-centric educational provision. European Educational Research Journal, 14(2), 177–191. http://doi.org/10.1177/1474904115571800 Sargeant, J., & Harcourt, D. (2012). Doing ethical research with children. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/id/10602516
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