Session Information
25 SES 11, Digital and Civic Spaces
Paper/Video Session
Contribution
The Kids Rights in School Project commenced in 2015 and sought to investigate children’s and teacher’s understandings of education rights as identified by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989). Beginning as a pilot study, the project utilised a ‘students as researchers’ approach (Bland, Carrington & Brady, 2009) to explore how children’s rights were recognised and enacted in the school environment. Underpinned by the sociology of childhood (James & James, 2004, 2009, 2012; James, Jenks & Prout, 1998; Jenks, 2005; Mayall, 2002, 2013; Oswell, 2013; Qvortrup, 2009; Wyness, 2000, 2012), this research sought to utilise methods that gave more control to the children. This was to ensure that their opinions and views could be understood and represented accurately by the adult researchers and exhibit rather than inhibit their demonstrated capacity (Gillett-Swan, 2013, 2014). The research involved two key elements; an adult led (university researchers) and a student led (student project teams) focus.
Within these elements, the following questions were explored;
- What knowledge do students have of their rights?
- What are students’ experiences of student voice, participation, and citizenship rights within their school
- What opportunities exist for students to enact their rights and ‘have a say’ during their schooling experience
- What knowledge and perspectives do teachers and other school staff have regarding student rights and what this means in practice?
The adult led element investigated these questions in parallel to the student led investigations through continual dialogue and reflection between the adult and child researchers about their respective projects.
The student teams investigated these questions through their projects that were focused around; children’s rights in education, knowledge of rights, bullying, freedom of expression, safety from harm, student voice, and participation at school.
The student project teams discussed with the adult researchers that they would like to “go deeper in investigating… go around the world and investigate it… [tell] other people… so that other people do it [their projects] and take it further.” This video presentation provides an opportunity for the student project teams to share their projects, findings and implications, in their own words to an international audience and potentiates the ability for their desire to have global impact and continuance of the work that they started by other adult researchers.
The project is continuing in 2016 with the participating students in 2015 becoming research mentors and co-organisers of the new 2016 student project team cohorts.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Australian Children’s Commission, 2014. Children’s rights report 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2015 from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/Children's%20Rights%20Report%202014_2.pdf Bland, D., Carrington, S., & Brady, K. 2009. Young people, imagination and re-engagement in the middle years. Improving Schools, 12(3), 237-248 Hill, M. 2006. Children’s voices on ways of having a voice: Children’s and young people’s perspectives on methods used in research and consultation. Childhood, 18(4), 69–89. James, A. 2007. Giving a voice to children’s voices: Practices and problems, pitfalls and potentials. American Anthropologist, 109(2), 261–272. James, A., & James, A. 2004. Constructing childhood: Theory, policy and social practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan. James, A., & James, A. 2012. Key concepts in childhood studies (2nd ed.). UK: Sage. James, A., Jenks, C., & Prout, A. 1998. Theorizing childhood. Cambridge, UK: Polity. Jenks, C. 2005. Childhood (2nd ed.). UK: Routledge. Kellett, M. 2010. Rethinking children and research. London: Continuum. Mayall, B. 2002.Towards a sociology for childhood. UK: Open University Press. Mayall, B. 2013. A history of the sociology of childhood. UK: IOE Press. Oswell, D. 2013. The agency of children. UK: Cambridge University Press. United Nations 1989. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Geneva: United Nations. United Nations 2009.United Nations general comment 12: The right of the child to be heard. Retrieved from http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/children/participation/CRC-C-GC-12.pdf Wyness, M. 2000. Contesting childhood. London: Falmer. Wyness, M. 2012. Childhood and Society (2nd ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan
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