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Violence among children has been considered one of the fundamental issues inhibiting optimal child well‐being and learning. Violence is widespread in Albania. Understanding the factors that affect it and the complex nature of violence itself requires looking at root social, cultural and economic factors and the normative influences on these factors. This study aimed to explore social and gender norms impacting school‐related gender‐based violence, and children's potential role in challenging these social norms. This article focuses on findings from research in two schools in Albania, particularly on what children and adult‐supporters shared about their understanding of social and gender norms that perpetuate violence, and their recommendations for policy and practice to address them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although play exemplifies one of the highest forms of experiential learning and can foster creativity and innovation in adults, it is less frequently used explicitly in adult training. This short article explores a play-based approach to enhance teachers' confidence in using play-based pedagogy through a case study on the Continuum of Teacher Training (COTT), Right To Play International's in-service teacher training programme. The CoTT is a 21-day programme, which is contextualized and delivered in 16 countries. It integrates play-based learning methods into teaching practice while aligning with local curriculum and infusing academic content with social-emotional skills development. The article concludes with preliminary insights on the impact of the model on children's social-emotional learning and academic achievement and argues for the critical importance of play for adults to support intergenerational relationships and quality play-based approaches.

Child-led research is growing globally, yet there are still limitations for children's leadership in all phases of research. This article, co-written with adult and child researchers, examines child-led research undertaken online with 9 children from Ontario and Quebec over a one-year period. The article explores the process of participating in and collaborating on an online peer-to-peer participatory action research project from the brainstorming stage to recruitment, design, data collection, analysis, and dissemination of knowledge. While much literature exists on older children and youth leading research, this research provides a unique contribution to the literature on the possibilities of creating space for children ages 11 to 14 to lead research. This article finds that the child researchers most valued: (1) Play and fun; (2) Engaging in new experiences; and (3) Learning. The article concludes that child-led research is feasible, and it can create better research and provide a transformative opportunity for child and adult researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inclusion of young people in conducting research leads to the creation of shared knowledge, honest communication, and increases the legitimacy of the research, allowing it to be an effective base for policy creation. This paper looks at the role of horizontal co-production with young people, as we reflect together on the process of collaboration in peace-building research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the author discusses articles within the issue on topics including child and youth activism, importance of relationship building as part of long-term activism, intergenerational relationships and power dynamics and the concept of intersectionality rooted in African American Feminist thought and activism.

Children have the right to be free from violence in schools, yet violence in schools persists. The social and gender norms, or unwritten rules of behavior that drive our collective beliefs, attitudes, and perspectives, perpetuate both positive and harmful behavior related to violence. However, social norms are malleable. To explore this further, the Regional Research on Violence Against Children in Schools in South East Europe project, supported by Terre des hommes and the Child Protection Hub and led by the International Institute on Child Rights and Development (IICRD) sought to work with young people and their supporters in eight South and East European countries from 2019-2021 to unpack how social and gender norms impact school related gender-based violence (SRGBV) and the potential role young people play in challenging destructive social norms in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania, and Serbia. At the intersection of a child's right to be safe, to be educated and to be heard, this paper looks at a creative and participatory research approaches that bring children's experiences of violence in schools to the fore and centers their experiences. This largely qualitative study drew on participatory and creative methods to explore the incidence and type of violence that children and young people are facing in and around school in South East Europe, who is most impacted by it, the social and gender norms related to violence (including SRGBV) against children, the mechanisms and child-led actions that protect children from violence and promote wellbeing, how children and young people felt able to prevent or respond to violence (and SRGBV specifically), and the ideas they had for prevention. National academic and independent researchers were trained on the research and analysis tools that were designed by the IICRD team to ensure consistency. Two schools in each country were chosen to run 2-3-day workshops with up to 15 young people aged 13-18-years-old and up to 15 adult supporters at each site. This paper outlines the findings and focuses on the cyclical nature of research and practice where one informs the other. The multi-country research design and findings offer unique insights into effective approaches to work with young people as well as the levels of violence experienced by young people and their critical insights in how to implement enhanced safety in schools. In addition, this paper emphases the process of conducting research using creative and participatory methods as this is not often discussed in detail in the literature. In order to develop research with children and young people that can effectively impact practice, we suggest it is imperative to have a relational approach embedded in research that provides training for adults to ensure they are equipped to do this sensitive work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]