Conversations With Children 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Conversations With Children Theoretical Possibilities for Progressing Participation Anne Graham & Robyn Fitzgerald Southern Cross University, Australia May 2008

000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Context … The Centre for Children & Young People at Southern Cross University interdisciplinary Centre research, education and advocacy collaboration - researchers, practitioners, children & young people rural and regional emphasis May 2008

Current research projects include: 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Current research projects include: Children & YP in out of home care Children’s involvement in decision-making in family law Children’s social and emotional wellbeing Children’s spirituality Rural childhoods Children’s citizenship Children & the law May 2008

000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Work draws on a range of theoretical interests - sociocultural theory, childhood studies, constructivism, poststructuralism, critical theory, complexity theory, futures studies, hermeneutics…. May 2008

Core interest… Linking the theory and practice of participation 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Core interest… Linking the theory and practice of participation YPBV - ‘Young People, Big Voice’ - Advice on Centre’s activities - guide research projects; participate in seminars, conferences; develop grant applications; prepare govt inquiry submissions etc May 2008

Today’s Agenda 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Children’s participation is increasingly characterised by ambiguity and contestation - the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ of participation requires ongoing critical engagement - resonance or dissonance between theory and practice? When we ask children about participation they tell us it is about their recognition. Such calls for recognition immediately direct us to consider whether & how our participatory practices facilitate/promote their recognition. Much of the theory and practice of children’s participation incorporates an implicit or explicit emphasis on conversation and dialogue. Purpose of today’s paper? To think critically about whether and how ‘participation’ that incorporates ‘listening to the voices of children’ facilitates their recognition. May 2008

The Paradox of Children’s Participation in Theory, Policy and Practice 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Developments in new childhood studies, children’s rights jurisprudence and research and socio-cultural theory reveal the paradoxical nature of children’s participation In Principle In Practice Children want to be heard Evidence base – better decisions, better policy, better practice, responsive and accountable institutions, safer kids, happier kids It is a right Barriers to children’s participation are considerable Participatory initiatives often tokenistic Children themselves unsure about purpose of participation and whether they want to participate Broader debates about participation generally suggest participation itself is hard to define and practice May 2008

What do children and young people at the CCYP say participation is? 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 “Participation is when are you actively involved in something” “Being involved in things you choose to be involved in…having a choice” “Presenting an idea and following through with it” “Not just saying you are going to do it, but doing it” “I think it’s about contributing to society” “When the international researchers came we were given the opportunity to contribute to how youth are portrayed…so that’s making a difference” “Participation is about making a difference” “Participation should be a choice” Young People, Big Voice 16 February 2008 May 2008

What do other children and young people say about participation? 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 “Participation should be respectful” “Participation should enable change” “Participation should be genuine” “Participation should be multi-faceted and multi-layered” “Participation includes having access to information” ? ? See for example Stafford et al (2003); Wierenga et al (2002); Smith et al (2003); Cashmore & O’Brien (2001); Butler et al (2002) May 2008

Participation as a Process of Recognition 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Children do not envisage participation simply in formal or universal terms Children do envisage participation as a process that takes place in everyday relationships which initiate, support and facilitate them to enable change Children’s accounts of participation turn on their need for recognition – of who they are (their identity), of their place in social, cultural and political life (their status) and of what they have to say (their voice). May 2008

Participation as a Process of Recognition 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Children describe participation as an important event in their lives for enabling (and preventing) them to discover and negotiate, in positive ways, the essence of who they are and their place in the world. This event is also an event of recognition, an event described by Anderson and Honneth as: “a dynamic process in which individuals come to experience themselves as having a certain status, be it as a focus of concern, a responsible agent, or a valued contributor to shared projects” (emphasis added) Anderson and Honneth, 2005, p 131 May 2008

Participation as a Process of Recognition 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Children’s participation can be linked to 3 aspects or modes of recognition: Self-confidence - underlying capability to express needs and desires without fear of abandonment but instead with a high estimation of ability Self-respect - possession of universal dignity and self-reflexive agency as persons Self-esteem - a sense of one’s uniqueness, difference, value “Due recognition is not just a courtesy we owe people. It is a vital human need”. Taylor (1995, p.226) May 2008

Participation as a process of recognition….and misrecognition 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 When participation is viewed as a process of recognition, it becomes something more than just a process which children are (or are not) invited to talk about their views, experiences, fears, desires and uncertainties: it becomes a process linked to identity formation - of self discovery and self affirmation - being and becoming. When participation is viewed as a process of recognition, it should also be seen as a process which holds potential for misrecognition. Nonrecognition or misrecognition can inflict harm, can be a form of oppression, imprisoning someone in a false, distorted, and reduced mode of being. (Taylor, 1995, p.225) May 2008

Children’s Participation: A Struggle Over Recognition 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Children’s recognition is not a ‘given’ - it emerges out of exchange or struggle Children’s struggle over recognition requires that we critically engage with the intricate web of power relations which invite, resist and exclude the recognition of children as important and valuable participants. ….almost all discourse about young people’s participation refers back at least implicitly to notions of power; less often, however, does that involve explicit identification, clarification and deconstruction of what is meant by power and how power operates. (Hill et al, 2004, p.89) May 2008

Conversation and Dialogue Rethinking our Potential for Facilitating the Recognition and Participation of Children: Conversation and Dialogue 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Recognition Participation Conversation and Dialogue May 2008

000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Conversation and dialogue – the cornerstone of participation, i.e. a priority issue …efforts, claims and demands of an individual (child, adult or organisation) for the recognition of children From… …the inter-subjective space of children’s participation, where conversations with parents, carers, teachers, caseworkers, lawyers, policy makers etc. generate new insights and shared understandings To… …a shift in focus… May 2008

What is Conversation and Dialogue? 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 ‘new’ dialogue ‘principled’ dialogue ‘non-violent approaches’ and dialogue ‘bilateral’ dialogue May 2008

an openness to change together “Conversation” 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 conversari “to dwell” or “to keep company with” an openness to change together convertere “to change”, “to convert”, “to alter”, “to refresh” or “to turn” May 2008

What do we seek to recognize? “Dialogue” 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 “the word” or “truth” logos What do we seek to recognize? dia Site of Struggle “through” May 2008

The Implications of Conversation and Dialogue for Children’s Participation 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 A focus on the dialogical nature of participation brings to light a number of issues we must continue to grapple with … May 2008

000915SYAUO966AAGP1 “before we can simply ‘give a voice’ to children, we need to acknowledge that there are ambiguities involved in human communication, and that these ambiguities result from the ‘socialness’ of human interaction, discourses and practices” —Komulainen, 2007, p13 May 2008

Something to think about… 000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Do we invite children into conversation and dialogue or do we simply invite their views? Do we place our own experience at risk when we ‘listen’ to children? Does what the child is saying to me help me see ‘differently’? Are we (together) able to generate new understandings? How do we represent these? How do we negotiate the ambiguities? How have I been ‘changed’, ‘turned’, ‘converted’, ‘altered’ or ‘refreshed’ through the dialogical encounter with the child? How is this reflected in the evaluation of our participatory initiatives? May 2008

000915SYAUO966AAGP1 Thank you May 2008