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This paper examines the evidence of children's agency in research about infants, toddlers and technologies. It finds that an implicit reliance on technological determinism as a theoretical perspective for positioning technologies relative to young children's development tends to shape research in terms of understanding the impact of technologies on young children. Drawing on critical constructivism as a philosophical stance on technologies, this paper argues that children's agency with technologies may be further investigated in terms of practice architectures to better understand the social mediation of infant and toddler interactions and engagements with technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the issue of child protection protocols within research conducted with children. Based partly on primary data this paper raises questions about the role of ethics committees in defining the limits of confidentiality in relation to child protection protocols within research, the perceptions of both children and parents about the meanings of confidentiality and notions of ‘harm’, and the role of the researcher in relation to legal and professional guidance about the protection of vulnerable people in society. We explore the concept of confidentiality within a research setting from a child protection perspective. In doing so we examine the legal and moral obligations of researchers to report child protection concerns, how children themselves perceive ‘harm’, and the need for much clearer guidance to researchers, as well as child participants and parents, about the limitations of confidentiality. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the lives of children living in a large informal settlement in central Accra, Ghana. Its contention is that children remain largely absent from the renewal of interest in slums and that where they do feature it is largely as objects of risk and vulnerability. Such an exclusive focus, it is argued, risks effacing the ways in which children are capable of actively confronting the terrible constraints posed by slum environments and the 'talent for living' that this involves. Drawing upon the findings of a small qualitative exploratory research project, the paper examines sources of support and cooperation between children and how their decisions to work are perceived as a strategy to actively support mothers and families struggling for a subsistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diverse selection of papers in this edition of "Children & Society" points to the health of the journal and reflects positively on the creative range of research, theoretical debate and policy and practice development in the field. The paper by Roger Smith critically reviews the question of childhood in the context of conflicting social trends, in particular the simultaneous globalization and atomization of social life. Eric Blyth reviews different approaches to exchanging genetic origins information in third party assisted conception. He provides a critique of the model currently in force in Great Britain and advocates its replacement by a system that more closely resembles that introduced in Victoria (Australia) in 1998. June Statham, Jean Dillon and Peter Moss consider the development and operation of sponsored day care services in 12 English local authorities, in the context of current policy developments within early childhood services. Robbie Gilligan argues for the resilience as a key concept in work with young people in need, where resilience refers to a capacity to do well despite adverise experience. Clare Armstrong, Malcolm Hill and Jenny Secker report findings from a qualitative study which used focus group discussions and individual interviews to explore young people's understanding of mental health and illness; the promotion of positive mental health; responses to negative feelings; and perceived differences between themselves and adults.

Choice is often presented as a defining feature of play and it has been argued that a perception of choice contributes to the developmental potential of play. This paper investigates children's self-recorded levels of choice during play across three contexts-the home, the school playground and the out-of-school club. Children recorded their play activities across contexts using a structured diary technique. Findings based on 401 reported play episodes indicated that choice varied across contexts, according to the number of children involved and whether or not an adult was present. The findings are discussed in relation to theory, policy and professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers who involve children in their research are faced with the challenge of choosing between differing theoretical approaches which can prioritise children's autonomy rights or their 'vulnerability' and their need to be protected. Somewhat confusingly, ethical guidelines seem to reflect a combination of these approaches. Even when researchers have settled on their preferred approach, they may find that this then has to be modified in accordance with gatekeeper requirements. In the context of children's involvement in a child safety online project, this paper highlights the difficulties encountered because of a tension between children's autonomy rights, educational norms in a school setting and child protection concerns and considers whether an appropriate balance was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a recent surge of interest in consulting children and young people about issues affecting them. Research in this area can in the main be said to have been motivated by adult agenda, with little attempt to seek the views of children and young people themselves. This paper is based on what children have said about consultation. They were critical of some of the more widely used methods, largely because they saw them as unrepresentative. The main message from the research is that children want to be consulted if it is done properly, if it is about issues directly affecting them and if they see it as likely to yield results that are likely to benefit them or other young people. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on integrated data from focus groups and diary entries, we explored the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on child well‐being for children from five Majority World Countries. We focus on the disruptions the pandemic caused, the adjustments made in response to these, and children's vision of a post‐pandemic world. Underlying children's experiences of loss, boredom and concerns about educational progress, was an awareness of systemic inequalities that disadvantaged them or others in their community. Findings have implications on capturing children's voices through introspective and dialogical approaches that transcend cultures and for the development of preventive and responsive interventions during crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is set in the North of England in the context of debates around the integration of communities, after a series of street disturbances in the early 2000s. The debates centred upon ‘social cohesion’ and the social mixing of Pakistani British and White British communities. The current study explores this from the context of 10‐ to 11‐year‐old Asian, Black and White British boys participating in cricket and football clubs. It draws on the sociology of childhood approach that sees children as active participants and co‐creators of their own lives. This more nuanced approach sheds important light on children's own negotiations of home, peers, sports clubs and identities that are key to how cohesion is achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deconstructs the conventional definition of bullying through analysis of its historical context, and identifies blind spots using lenses of gender, culture and setting. We explore theoretical and methodological problems associated with the conventional definition and its axiomatic use in bullying research, with particular reference to online bullying. We argue that because children may use ‘bullying’ to mean many different practices not captured in the conventional definition, using this definition often obscures the very phenomena researchers are aiming to describe. As a result, adults risk missing these practices in research and for interventions that use these studies as their evidence base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the activities of a municipal children's parliament (the TCP) in a middle‐sized Finnish town. The article focuses on members of the TCP board and their parents and the emphasis is on parents' views as very little research exists on family background in relation to children's public participation. All the participating families were middle‐class, both as self‐defined and according to their socioeconomic background. The parents studied detailed different emotions they and their children experienced as members of the children's parliament. The article illustrates that being a middle‐class child and participating in civic activities is not an uncomplicated description of privilege. Children and parents engaged in the TCP board displayed three distinct strategies, to interpret and support engagement in the structure; as hobbyists, school‐oriented or ambivalently engaged. They had to cope with feelings of pressure and stress over workload and the conflict between having peer‐related problems in school versus the future civic competencies and advantages held out to TCP office holders. The article extends the understanding of participation to include discussion of social class and emotions and calls for further research on these themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights work underway in three English local authorities to promote effective inter-agency collaboration around the education of looked after children. Insight drawn from these local authorities is used to review previous literature concerning inter-agency collaboration in a variety of contexts. The relevance of previous research to issues concerning the education of looked after children is discussed and key factors associated with effective collaboration are highlighted. Barriers which have served to obstruct joint working and strategies adopted to deal with these are also discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practitioners and researchers have made progress, in recent years, in seeking the views of children and young people. Less progress has been made in seeking the views of young people with significant communication and/or cognitive impairments. Drawing on the experience of three research projects and one Best Value review, this article details the lessons learnt, and action required, in order to find out about the experiences of this important group of children and young people. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As preventive initiatives gather momentum in the UK, the need for rigorous evaluation of effective practice becomes more urgent. However, researchers, practitioners and policy makers may have different priorities when it comes to implementing evaluations in community settings. This article considers the competing demands that may be placed on evaluators in relation to three dimensions: the service (characteristics of the intervention itself); the sample (people who are participating); and the methodology or research design. It explores compromises that may be required between scientific ideals and real-world limitations, and assesses the implications for obtaining meaningful results in evaluation research. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the relationships between evaluators and those who take part in community-based programmes. It draws specifically on experience gained from the continuing evaluation of the Communities that Care (CTC) programme in Britain. Different community perspectives towards evaluation are discussed, highlighting the challenges these create for evaluators. In the final sections examples are used to identify different strategies used on the CTC evaluation, showing how ‘trust’, ‘boundary setting’, ‘independence’ and ‘identification of benefits’ are central to including community participants in evaluation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]