Introduction
Tradition methods vs. New Sociology
Over the last two decades, traditional theories have always depicted adults as independent, rational efficient and experienced adults while a child on the other hand was portrayed as dependent, irrational and an incompetent young person. Thus from such theories children were normally not regarded as citizens or of any value to the development of the society at large and also to a larger extent lacked any rights since they were incapable of being rational, efficient and competent. Due to this, children were only offered protection but they could not have autonomy, whereby under this protection, the children could be natured to become good law-abiding and responsible citizens. Due to this, there were certain issues that were raised up, they included: children being often marginalized resulting in children constantly seeking protection from adults. Children were often being looked upon as subordinate to society; also, children were being institutionalized into individuals instead of incorporating them into the society a process known as familiarization, all this was structured to view children as objects rather than an integral part of the society which they exhibited while in learning institutions for example, through children’s labor in school.
Thus from the above issues, childhood could be closely defined as being disabled due to the similarity that exists between the issues pertaining to disability and childhood. The new sociology of childhood thus developed other new policies and ideologies with a view to challenging this. The new sociology of childhood felt that children were more or less associated with a disability even though they formed an integral part of the society which was an ideology being natured by adults and also chose to ignore the input of children in their society. The new sociology further challenged the thought that children were empty vessels whereby they could only be rational and competent after the adults had impacted wisdom into them after which they could now gain rights as adults. Due to the fact that being a child is not a disability and are in a position to function efficiently, new sociology challenged this depicting the traditional concept of portraying children as being disabled and the new ideology that depicts children as not being disabled but often put into that position by traditional societal ideologies.
Consequently, as the society developed into the new sociology ideology, various changes started taking place whereby the society stopped perceiving children as objects but subject to vital societal issues. Thus the status of children in society gradually changed as the perception of them being seen as agents gradually decreased.
UNCRC notes that children are representatives of the society and are entitled to respect and human rights and for this to take a foothold in society; their civil rights should be upheld. UNCRC integrates both the traditional safeguard of children but also introduces new civil liberties of participation.
Developments under UNCRC
Traditionally researchers and society have always put forth the interests and view of children through their own perspective completely ignoring the input of the children directly hence, children were traditionally voiceless.
Due to this UNCRC laid an emphasis that sought to incorporate the views of children directly without the perspective of adults coming into place. One of the methods put across by the UNCRC was communication with the children directly whereby the child’s interests could be heard through its voice without being influenced by other external factors. By doing this, the children’s voice will become associated with their rights and interest and therefore contribute towards their agency and participation in society. Therefore for this communication to cut across all interests and realistically reflect the children’s view, it has to go beyond the traditional communication channels such as writing and being verbal but also incorporate visual observation and arts, sound and multimedia.
Methodological implications of the new sociology of childhood and the UNCRC
The new sociology of childhood relies on the concept of agency and participatory methods in children, which has a significant influence on the hypothetical understanding of childhood sociology. This influences the way in which researchers deal with young people as a result creation of a new relationship between the children and society. As a result of UNCRC lays emphasis on the need for constant consultation and participation with children. Identifiable there are two methodological
The methodological approach implies research on children should be inferred from their behavior. According to Gallagher and Gallagher (125), this is unachievable considering that active participation is deliberate and those participating inactively respond, though one needs a cognizant, knowledgeable mind to engage in an exercise. Children may enthusiastically choose to contribute in what may seem a passive way. The methodology does not necessarily guarantee freedom and it could lead to an irresolvable ‘colonization’ of childhood by the elderly.
By emphasizing methodology, this could also imply that the possibilities of the research problem are greatly reduced. Methodology means that there are predefined activities in which those participating can engage in. However, children may act in ways beyond the limits prescribed by methodologies. By expecting that young people participate may in reality restrain the possibilities for them to be social actors.
Through methodology it is not defined whether the child is consciously and intentionally participating in the particular activities, engaging in accordance to the ways of the agency.
To ensure the participation of children, an open-ended way should be adopted which does not restrain the participation of children and does not compromise the agency of children.
Critical evaluation
The issue of representation has received particular attention, both in terms of the young people involved and the links between them and other young people in the community. To understand the high levels of ambiguity and contradiction on the issue around young people’s participation in decision making let us look at Faulkner’s article; “Representation and Representation: Youth Participation in ongoing public decision-making projects.” In this article, Faulkner brings out the concern of representation and presentation of the youth in continuing youth participation undertakings. Faulkner argues that the literature on interest groups holds valuable insights that can be applied to groups of young people involved in ongoing decision-making projects. She applies thoughts from the literature on political pressure groups which she compares to a group of youth who were engaged over the duration of time in civic decision-making in a given Scottish municipal.
Faulkner (2009) notes the increasing youth’s participation in public decision making where several institutions and governmental bodies were engaging young people in decisions about policies and exercise. For example, consultations, where young people’s opinions are gathered to be applied in decision making, and ongoing projects where there is a process that involves some discussion on decisions. She uses the view of the AG as an interest group to bring out the participation of the young people in ongoing decision-making roles. The AG is criticized for becoming more like adults/politicians rather than representatives of the young people.
As Faulkner states, the AG could be referred to as a prisoner insider group looking at the traditional resources it possessed and could deploy and its regular access to discussion and developments on youth policy issues; however, it was in a particularly weak position in a number of ways. It was exclusively tied to, and in due course reliant on the very group it sought to influence even considering that much of the funding came from the Council. It could organize and articulate demands, but it lacked the more significant resources in terms of size of membership, control over goods or labor, economic significance or implementation power. The group lacked knowledge of ‘young people’s views’. Looking at the representation of young people’s views as a resource for the AG as a prisoner interest group can help us understand such high levels of ambiguity and contradiction on the issue among participants.
Faulkner comes up with two strong resources that the AG had to offer the council: first, knowing other young people’s views and articulating them through tolerable means. The AG was continually asked to give young people’s views by both the council and other institutions. However, the adult panelists criticized this resource saying that the young people often brought up issues in the panel that was relevant to them personally but not to the wider population. The second resource was having the ability to fit into the policy-making process, i.e. to act appropriately.
However, these two resources were both dynamically assembled and disputed by the adults and youths over time. Both resources can be seen as giving more advantage to the youths whilst consequently giving the adults problems. Faulkner advocates for participation agency and it is evident from the study that the youth are not afraid of adults and can challenge them when it comes to the decision table, however the restraints in the mixed panel.
Unlike what is advocated by the participatory approaches, Gallagher and Gallagher (2008) in their article “Methodological Immaturity in Childhood research,” offers a recount of these approaches. Gallagher and Gallagher argue that participatory techniques in their pursuance that young people ought to engage in research, may in fact engage young people in practices that are aimed at regulating them. They base their article on the query of whether participatory techniques are important for young people to practice agency in research problems and whether the techniques can deliver all that they promise. They examine the ontological and epistemological assumptions on which the participatory approaches are based.
To the authors, by using participatory methods it would be like saying that children are like “experts” in their own lives arguing that identity brings up knowledge: young people are in a better place to identify their youth than grown people. This epistemology makes an assumption that individuals are obviously predictable to themselves, and right their ‘voices’ as the most genuine basis of understanding about themselves and their lives. Contrary to the participatory method opinion that young people are “beings,” the authors suggest that children are “becoming” and changing and more or less stable and they should be given attention unlike treating them as “future adults-in-the-making”. It this thought that children are autonomous beings who are independent on their own and it is this is that gives them self-knowledge.
Tom Gallagher and Gallagher, bring up two identifiable notions which are parcel of the problems: first, that power is a good that can be possessed, traded, distributed and renounced at will. Second is the procedural reasonableness of ‘empowerment’ which assumes participation in research. It is assumed that the exercise of participatory methods enables young people to practice their “agency” by engaging in creating their knowledge. However, if children are encouraged to participate in building their knowledge then they are also encouraged to participate in decisions used to control themselves.
To the authors, it is unimaginable that participation could be inferred from a children’s behavior considering that active participation is deliberate, thus those participating have to make a cognizant, well-versed judgment to engage in the exercise. However, Gallagher and Gallagher argue that recounting ‘becoming’, surfacing and childishness as important characteristics of man’s being and equally important in enriching the research exercise.
In conclusion, they suggest that researchers working with young people may gain from the approach of methodological immaturity. They are more concerned with the means and the will in which these methods are applied. To them, research is more or less predictable and cannot be reduced to imaginative approaches, structured and articulately used. And methodological immaturity allows for unlimited practice over pre-designed methods, experimentation, novelty and “making do”.
Powell and Smith (2009) examine young people’s participation rights in research, from a study conducted in New Zealand. The study reveals that young people’s participation privileges are especially undermined when the potential child participants are considered susceptible and the sensitivity of the research subject. According to the article, children’s participation rights might be erratically advocated and gravely undermined by factors such as; societal biases catalyzed by traditional and theoretical opinions that see children as susceptible and lacking ability. These factors are evident in some ethics committee regulations, recruitment and research methodologies, and data given to children and in the ladders of consent providers.
Powell and Smith suggest that the ethical and procedural decisions made by researchers influence the children’s contribution to research. Some techniques are irreverent, speak of the power differentials and imitate the range of research subjects, goals and frameworks. Unlike the participatory approach, a general child-centered approach should direct a researcher. Thus a researcher should be a good communicator and have the ability to create a relationship, especially when taking a sensitive research subject. Gatekeeping should be done more professionally, with children enlightened their competencies and their privileges to participation, particularly the susceptible ones. From the survey, it is clear that young people’s right to participate in research is not always upheld. These researches enlarge knowledge of the young people’s experience and dispute the domination of limiting historical build-ups of childhood.
Powell and Smith hold that young people should be seen, not as susceptible submissive beings, but as individuals who can take part in the deciding on whether to participate in research.
Sinclair (2004) analyses the inclusion of children in the decision-making process. The article takes into account different stages of their association, different contexts and activities. It therefore further analyses the different current state of affairs especially in the need to develop children positively. Hence if children are to develop more, their involvement should integrate a lot of different activities in order to see participation become a core issue in children’s relationships.
In order for one to fully understand the article, one must realize that there is a need to recognize that young people and children must be involved in decision-making processes especially on issues and matters that concern their welfare which have grown significantly worldwide. An interrelationship linking the diverse issues affecting children and their ability to participate in decision-making fora is increasing by the day and has even been stipulated in the UNCRC on children’s rights. This has awarded the participation of children the much-needed support. In the process of answering the question on how an essentialist clearly partial treatment of agency, has been able to manage as an efficient line of attack to raise the profile of children and childhood within sociology. Innovative new ideas and thoughts have stimulated a renewed vigorous congregation of a number of diverse perceptions. Consequently, these aspects have come out in three very distinct parts of particular significance: 1) consumer power increase; 2) children’s rights agenda, and 3) a surge in the study of social sciences due to the new shifts. This has led to an increase in the understanding of the child as a competent social actor. Even though there are very many differences facing children worldwide, a platform for participation regardless of these dynamics seems to be working very well as it provides avenues where young people elect their own to act as their representatives and articulate their grievances and issues that affect them whether positively or negatively. All this is carried within a formal structured establishment put in place solely for this
Hence, the article focuses on two issues: that young people ought to be studied for and in themselves, and not merely as ways of accepting the adult world, or of dealing with its anxieties; that researchers ought to be thoughtful to the peculiarity and specifics of individual youth as geographically, historically and socially situated. It is therefore not adequate to carry out a study on or about young people; researchers must study for and with young people. Repositioning young people as subjects of study are not only enough– rather than objects – of research; young people should be appointed as a participant in the study process, if not as researchers in themselves
Thus the article takes into account the need for the involvement of children in participatory matters. However, it does not fully expound on the issue of agency. Though the children are involved in the decision-making process, this does not fully make them independent as they are in constant consultation with the adults. Thus agency is not developed under this method and hence the article fails to incorporate this vital issue in the research.
Stafford et al (2003) analyze the recent trend whereby the society has resulted in consulting children and the youth on issues affecting them directly or indirectly. It further analyses the aspect whereby adults have taken upon themselves to consult with the youth and young children in order to take their views into consideration when implementing decisions or policies. The article further analyses the effects of misrepresentation of the youth in matters affecting society and the diverse effects it has on both them and society. Therefore the main objective of the article is based upon the need for the involvement and consultation of young people, an initiative implemented by the adults in the society in order to yield positive results. The article thus lays an emphasis on the dynamics that affect children and has established a number of key issues or areas that children want to be consulted on before any decisions are undertaken. This is due to the fact that these are core aspects surrounding their livelihoods, upbringing, interaction with each other, and interaction with adults and their relationship with adults. Understanding this line of thought is necessary for an ample avenue for participation to be created, participation that is effective and meets the set down objectives. A critical examination of the article reveals that Consultation is a relatively new area of addressing issues affecting children that is being tried out to see whether it can help in figuring out young people and enabling them to have their say in issues in their societies. Young people feel that a variety of ways and methods can be used to consult them so as to get their views and adequately articulate them.
Therefore the article touches on key participatory methods which enable children to exercise agency and become independent decision-makers as they develop into adulthood. These participatory methods mentioned in the article include consultation with the young people and taking their concerns seriously while implementing decisions or policies. By so doing children feel an integral part of the society whereby they are also depended upon by the same society and not seen as research objects but as research subjects whereby, their input is also a vital issue in the success of the society at large.
Wyness (2009) focuses on the diverse interrelation between children’s participation and the diversity of their childhoods. Despite the fact that there are many other ways through which children’s participatory methods can be enhanced, the article focuses on how children are the main representatives of their interests whereby they are elected by other children to ensure that these interests are well taken care of. Thus in doing so, the article emphasizes on a clear framework or institution through which this objective can be achieved, thereby bringing the issue of having institutional structures in place.
The article has drawn its findings from an analysis conducted in schools and other local civic councilors with the UK making it a more credible and realistic approach to the subject in question. It further analyses the two key issues, first, the stage or level of participation that these children representatives should possess within their society, community or at their learning institutions which can thereby allow them to fully represent their interests and secondly, the extent through which the representatives will truly and realistically reflect the wishes and desires of other diverse groups of the children. Therefore, in order to critically analyze the two fundamental questions, the article has deeply looked into the various forms of children’s electoral systems in place in relation to the representation of children’s rights and the diversity in place in the UK.
‘Participation’ has turned out to be both an endeavor and an instrument in an ethical mission towards the empowerment of young people. Researchers have adopted various ‘child-friendly’ methods, intended to make research more ‘fun’ and ‘relevant’ to children to achieve maximum results. The values of processes in which young people generate ideas by undertaking practical activities, rather than just filling out questionnaires are very important. The use of a varied assortment of data compilation methods such as mapping exercises, tours, and role-play exercises also go a long way in making young people relaxed and able to offer the much-needed information. However, other ways to be used could include an expansive range, which covers actions such as collage, model-making, story-telling, print journalism and electronic publishing, radio production drama, puppetry, music and dance.
Hence from the article, the representation of children’s interests by others through councils will not reflect the diverse interests of other children, especially minorities. By children being elected by children to represent their interests it will result in developing agency and developing participatory methods since they will learn to become independent and incorporate them to become an integral part of the society. In addition, they society will be in a position to change their views on how they perceive children as being dependent on them as they will be in a position to learn from them through their electoral institutions thus incorporating the children’s electoral representation as a subject to research on and find out its failures or success in the long run.
Nevertheless, the article has shown that though these children’s representation methods are vital towards achieving agency, they will not be beneficial in the end as they will fail to represent the interests of the minority, for example, the disadvantaged and socially excluded youth. As a result, it is highly recommended that all forms of children’s representation be formally restructured to encompass all diverse interests and groups of young people. By doing so, agency and participatory methods of children will be fully developed evenly across the young people as the electoral representation will cut across all diverse interests and groups.
Conclusion
Recent indications confirm the growing recognition of agency participation of young people throughout the U.K and worldwide. It is becoming more necessary to include children in the processes of making and arriving at decisions as most of the issues that affect them are not tackled effectively by adults. There are various activities coming up on how to engage young people more in these processes. However, the relationship between adults and young people is a core factor that has to be strengthened so as to achieve the best results for participation by young people. Participation although being multidimensional and attracting diverse hindrances from all corners still has a great impact to influence and shape young people as future leaders. Findings from researches and studies on how to engage children and young people in participatory activities have a powerful and dramatic effect on how participation is embraced and carried out.
Participation of children, which enables them to exercise agency is strongly interrelated to the sociology of childhood. Consequently, the sociology of childhood has ‘matured ‘ itself as a sub-discipline by creating an image of children as ‘beings’. Therefore, it is important for constant studies to be carried out to find out and ascertain the factors and dynamics associated with this line of thought. The creation of a good healthy relationship is necessary so that the implementation of participation can be effectively undertaken. Young people feel that they are supposed to be consulted and their voices heard on issues that affect them. In addition, some feel that the opportunity accorded to them is not adequate enough for them to articulate themselves. Children’s rights need to and should be protected as children are also citizens and should be accorded the fundamental rights enjoyed by every other person in the society with respect to the relevant rules and laws stipulating this (Children Act of 1989). Studies carried out to understand children and the dynamics encompassing them without a doubt illustrate the right of children to be engaged in participation but in most cases, it’s not always upheld by the required organizations and authorities. Recently, numerous researchers are carrying out studies based on ethics that acknowledge children’s agency and competencies. So far these researches have brought more understanding and enlightenment on the issues affecting young people, thus helping to develop and change the perceptions of people towards young adults. In addition, they offer a great challenge to the domination of preventive past perceptions of childhood.
However, a debate on studies centered on ethics being carried out could be reduced to a conflict of rights – children’s right to be protected against their right to have a voice. This necessitates an enhanced sense of balance linking the protection of rights to the participation of young people, which will check against the exploitation of children, guaranteeing their protection without shutting them down and excluding them from the decision-making process, and also the pursuance of meticulous inquiries without upsetting them.
Reference list
Faulkner, K., 2009. “Representation and Representation: Youth Participation in ongoing public decision-making projects.” Childhood, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 89-104.
Gallagher, L. & Gallagher, M., 2008. “Methodological Immaturity in Childhood research.” Childhood, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 499-516.
Powell, M. & Smith, A., 2009. “Children’s Participation Rights in Research.” Childhood, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 124-142.
Sinclair, R., 2004. “Participation in Practice: Making it Meaningful, Effective and Sustainable.” Children and Society, vol. 18, pp. 106-118.
Stafford, A, Laybourn, A & Hill, M., 2003. “Having a Say: Children and Young People Talk about Consultation.” Children and Society, vol. 17, pp. 361-373.
Wyness, M., 2009. “Children Representing Children: Participation and the problem of Diversity in UK Youth Councils.” Childhood, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 535-552.