Search

While there is growing recognition of the importance of meaningful youth participation in activities and decisions which impact their lives, facilitating such engagement within different forums requires varied approaches. A programme of youth research at one Western Australian university has sought to embed pathways for ongoing youth participation in longitudinal research. In particular, we discuss Navigating Through Life, a large‐scale WA research project comprising three sub‐studies exploring young people's transitions from out of home care (OOHC) to independence. We established a youth advisory group to run alongside the project and employed peer researchers to conduct research tasks. In this paper, we seek to explicate the development and various iterations of youth participation in the project. We utilise our reflections, interview data and documentation from YAG meetings and feedback sessions with the peer researchers to illustrate the processes of transformation and flexibility required to develop and maintain youth participation in various ways across the project's life. Drawing on our findings and current literature, we highlight how funding bodies and researchers must consider the additional needs, unique and changeable life circumstances of young people to best facilitate their involvement in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applied a critical narrative analysis to narratives of youth self‐identifying as having mental health concerns. Instances of epistemic justice and injustice were identified related to youth's interactions with clinical and educational institutions as well as with parents and peers. Youth experienced instances of institutional ignorance related to their experiences, as well as implicit and explicit silencing of their experiences. Youth also experienced validation from practitioners and teachers who validated their needs and knowledge of their own experiences. Implications for practice and research are discussed around promoting epistemically just practice with youth and in the mental health system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Framed by Urie Bronfenbrenners' (1979) ecological systems theory, this paper analyses the contextual factors that facilitate commercial sex work among adolescent girls in a metropolis in Ghana. Focusing on contextual factors rather than individual perspectives, we examined the background of minors involved in sex trade by interviewing 15 juvenile prostitutes (aged 14–17) and several key stakeholders. We explored factors that cause them to engage in prostitution, such as dysfunctional family systems, peer and sibling influence, inadequate accommodation, media influence and fashionable trends, as well as poverty and survival dynamics. An innovative discovery presented in this paper is the strong presence of schools, and resultant young people, as well as tourist attractions and cultural celebrations such as festivals and funerals as drivers of juvenile prostitution in the study site. The paper concludes by recommending a multi‐sectoral approach to addressing juvenile prostitution challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents co‐participatory research with children in six primary schools in Ireland during the COVID‐19 pandemic. It explores the use of what we term digital dialogues with diverse groups of children aged 9–10 years as members of Child Research Advisory Groups. The paper conceptualises the digital dialogues as sites of resistance as well as constraint, empowering children to articulate their voices in relation to schooling and the pandemic, whilst mediated by power dynamics—between adults and children, and between children, in the articulation of those voices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although psychological approaches have been the mainstay of scholarly research on school climate, offering state‐of‐the‐art measurements and methodologies, sociological perspectives remain essential perspectives because violence is essentially a social phenomenon. This paper offers a theoretical consideration of contributions to this field, focusing specifically on those that provide a critical historical lens. I suggest that while Foucault's approach to the disciplining of docile bodies and self‐restraint offers crucial conceptual tools, Norbert Elias's work—which is scarce in scholarly research on school climate—provides a complementary but necessary framework for understanding emotional and relational aspects of peer harassment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we argue for two propositions: children are socialised and guided to become competent members of school mealtime community, and children have the capacity to modify and challenge existing practices. We draw on Bakhtin's concepts of the carnivalesque laughter and grotesque realism to illustrate how children use humour to test the boundaries of what is permitted. Children's mealtime interactions foster the development of social skills to subvert and negotiate adult authority and manage unfolding interactions between children and adults. We present findings from a child‐centred perspective in a primary school in the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children conducting research and engaging in 'adult' domains such as urban planning challenge perceptions of children as merely 'adult becomings' — perceptions which, along with lack of pathways for participation, have largely excluded children from effective participation in the public realm. This paper considers two urban participatory projects in Aotearoa/New Zealand: in the first, children (10–13 years) researched peer perceptions of Auckland city life; in the second, they were consulted by Auckland Council on the redevelopment of a city square. We reflect on processes and outcomes, and the extent to which facilitating such projects may increase children's meaningful participation in urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interviews with survivors of intimate partner violence were conducted to gain information on the transition from violent relationships to new non‐violent relationships. A subset of this data was re‐analysed using Social Relational Theory to gain further insight into the roles of children and important others who were identified as impacting this transition for mothers who had exited violent relationships. This paper reviews two major themes discovered during the SRT analysis that were inherent in the women's experiences: (i) agency of children, family, peers and community and (ii) power. In addition, this paper suggests implications for research, intervention and psychotherapeutic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social inclusion is a complex and often misunderstood concept. For children with disabilities, research has documented the degree of loneliness, bullying and exclusion they often experience in their social lives. This paper presents the findings of a critical literature review on the social inclusion of children with disabilities. Study methods comprised rigorous criteria for study selection followed by established protocols for evaluating studies. Reputable rating scales were used to examine peer-reviewed research published within the last 10 years. Fifty-four studies were analyzed for essential themes. Findings reflect a broad range of stakeholder perspectives and factors that promote or inhibit social inclusion, including child-specific variables as well as environmental influences. Additional research should focus on the perspectives and experiences of children in inclusive settings, particularly those with disabilities, as a means of safeguarding their future social and emotional well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]