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Children and young peoples experiences of participation in decision-making at home, in schools and in their communities Horgan, D. Forde, C. Parkes, A. Martin, S. Mages, L. and OConnell, A. DCYA Launch 17 th June 2015

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Research Question The aim of this study is to explore the extent to which children and young people, aged 7-17 and living in contemporary urban and rural Ireland, are able to participate and influence matters affecting them in their homes, schools and communities. The investigative focus of the study is shaped by Lundys (2007) conceptualisation of Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which focuses on space, voice, audience and influence. The objectives of this research are: to consider the extent to which children and young people have a voice and influence in matters affecting them at home, in their school and in the community where they live; to identify the facilitators and barriers to giving children and young people a voice and influence in matters affecting them in each of these settings; to examine the type of approaches used in each setting and identifies examples of good practice; to distil key messages for consideration by parents and families, teachers, schools and communities in Ireland.

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Why? The focus of much child participation research has not been on childrens everyday lives or the issues of importance as identified by children themselves (Tuukkanen et al., 2012) but rather on structured representative channels and participation in public spaces. A focus on participation as decision-making or influence over systems remains important, to ensure political mechanisms become responsive to childrens demands (Wall, 2011). However, recognizing aspects of childrens everyday practices as citizenship is critical in challenging dominant definitions of citizenship, and claiming a new status for children. Participation, then, must be acknowledged as the everyday and diverse and as a process of engaging in matters related to children themselves in their daily lives.

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What do we know- Childrens Participation in the Home Consumption activities such as food, clothes and TV are important for children and young people (Bjerke et al., 2011). For young people, issues such as how they spend free time are of concern. Children appear to increase their degree of involvement in decision making as they grow older (Bjerke et al., 2011) The extent to which childrens views influenced the outcome of a decision is said to be mediated by the degree to which parents concurred with their views (Davey et al., 2010) Importance for young people of parents explaining the rationale on which a decision had been made as a means of understanding the process rather than focusing on the outcomes (Davey et al., 2010)

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What do we know- Childrens Participation in School Young peoples participation in the operation or governance of schools is not systematic (Harris, 2009) Small percentage of schools report significant pupil choice in curricular development, evaluation or school planning decisions (Cross et al., 2009) Many studies point to the unrepresentative nature of student councils and their lack of influence (Alderson, 2000; Smith, 2007; Gileece & Cosgrove, 2012; Tisdall, 2008). Conservative participation by children in schools (De Castro, 2013) In Ireland one-fifth of second-year students in Ireland had participated in decision-making about the running of their school and fewer had taken part in discussions at assembly or been a candidate for the student council (Cosgrove and Gilleece, 2012) Approx two-thirds of students reported that they were encouraged to express their views in class, over half that they were involved in organising school events while only 22% that they had been involved in making school rules. All forms of participation were lower among older students and girls were more likely than boys to report that they took part in organising school events and were encouraged to express their views in class.(De Roiste, 2011).

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What do we know- Childrens Participation in the Community Activities emphasise children and young people as active and engaged citizens who contribute and shape community life in rich and diverse ways (Checkoway, 2003; Jans, 2004; Percy-Smith, 2010). Childrens involvement in physical planning in their local communities is limited (Kerrins et al., 2011) and often comes towards the end of the planning process. Young people positive about their participation experiences were far more likely to be involved in making decisions relating to their communities by virtue of belonging to a local youth council/forum or organisation (Davey et al., 2010) Reliance on formal mechanisms mechanisms (Vromen & Collin, 2010; Fleming, 2013). In the Irish context - children and young people involved in the DCYA participation initiatives experience a range of positive impacts in areas of personal development, social development, skills development and career direction (Martin et al., 2015).

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Data collection 3 research sites (Dublin, Sligo, Cork) 10 Group interviews with children aged 7-12 and 12-17 (total of 73): 3 groups from primary school 3 from second-level school 4 from community settings. 24 face to face interviews with adult stakeholders (youth workers, school Principals, teachers, parents) 4 group interviews with parents

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Child-centred participative research methods Children and Youth advisory groups Identifying themes Developing materials Initial data analysis Pilot group Testing data collection instruments Methods included ice-breakers, games, visual and verbal methods, drawings 7-12 age group: interactive floor mats (one for home, school and community) photomontage of pictures of children in various situations displayed as a prompt to thinking about participation decision-making wall chart 12-17 age group: guided discussion about home, school and community photomontage an interactive wall chart to capture the areas of participants Internet use

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Child friendly information on Article 12 UNCRC

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Decision-making chart

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Home

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School

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Community

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Findings most facilitative of their voice and participation food, clothes, leisure, and friends were key areas generally accepted that parents have greater influence over some issues, with increasing negotiation as they grew older. Home

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Findings most children and young people dissatisfied with their level of input into decision making processes in school very low expectations of schools being participatory sites and recognised that they had little say in anything apart from peripheral matters in school viewed school as being hierarchical institutions where even formal participation structures, such as student councils, were not experienced positively. School

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Findings activities sports; youth clubs and other activities based in community centres; non- scheduled activities including doing nothing, hanging out with friends & going to the cinema. children and young people were either ambivalent or dissatisfied with their input into local decision making processes. expressed concern about a number of community issues - crime, personal safety, education, facilities for young people and the environment. those involved in youth clubs or projects were positive about their experiences of voice consultation and engagement are critical Community

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Suggestions by children and young people HomeSchoolCommunity Definite times and spaces for discussion weekly family meetings Participative school culture - engagement in the development of school rules and policy and a shared culture of respect and inclusiveness Facilitating access in the community through the location, timing of, information about and transport to activities, facilities and spaces. Parents actively listening to children and young people Generation of good relationships with key school personnel Developmentof relationships of respect with adults in the community. Explanation of the rationale for adults decisions An appropriate learning environment with good facilities and small class size. Appealing informal, flexible processes of participation Adult recognition of children and young peoples agency with increasing age and maturity A more flexible and creative curriculum - availability of and access to scheduled and unscheduled structures for participation Gather young peoples views on issues of importance to them locally in their communities. Dedicated youth spaces such as youth cafs and youth projects planned and managed by themselves

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Conclusions Nuanced understanding of participation among children. Indicates that children and young people have varying levels of space, voice, audience and influence from one sphere of their lives to another but school emerges as particularly challenging as does community to a lesser extent. Confirms findings elsewhere that day-to-day decisions within the family stand out as the only area where a significant majority of children and young people feel they are heard and influence decisions (Burke, 2010). Points to the need to focus on the more organic spaces within everyday settings (Percy Smith, 2010) where young people can benefit from the development of a culture of participation and active citizenship and gradually take on more responsibilities and active roles.