This article responds to Wright and Nelson's (1995) call for a "creative synthesis" of participant observation and participatory research, which may allow the limitations of both methods to be addressed. It does so by reflecting on the experience of doing long-term research both with and on young Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. Although…

Recent attempts to theorize children's participation have drawn on a wide range of ideas, concepts and models from political and social theory. The aim of this article is to explore the specific usefulness of Honneth's theory of a "struggle for recognition" in thinking about this area of practice. The article identifies what is distinctive about…

This article explores a scoping review of qualitative studies about children's experiences and feelings during times of parental separation. The purpose of the review was to explore children's feelings and attitudes about their parents' separation and how their voices are heard during times of parental separation. The scoping review examined 44…

This article explores the ideas about children's participation in decision-making held by government officials and non-government representatives engaged in promoting children's participation in the Philippines. It suggests that the ideas that policy-makers and service deliverers hold about children's participation are heterogeneous, diverse and…

Respecting children's rights to be heard in matters that directly affect their everyday lives has become an established principle in Ireland and internationally. Accessing children's voices raises a number of important issues for researchers across a wide range of disciplines. This article reflects on the organizational, practical and ethical…

Children's rights have become a significant field of study during the past decades, largely due to the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989. Today, scholarly work on children's rights is almost inconceivable without considering the Convention as the bearer of the children's rights debate. The goal of…

This article draws on material from a case study of a group of young people involved in ongoing public decision-making in a local authority. The group of young people is compared to a political interest group and insights from the literature applied. It is argued that two of the strongest resources the group had to offer adult decision-makers were…

This article examines the opportunities and obstacles for vulnerable and victimized children's participation in family law proceedings. With the help of a set of interviews with children, a framework for the analysis of vulnerable and victimized children's participation is outlined with reference to, on the one hand, the childhood studies debates…

This article arose from the author's experiences as a researcher exploring children's reactions to their parents' separation. Between 1999 and 2004, the author undertook to find out what a sample of Australian children thought of their abilities to participate in decisions that directly affected them following family breakdown. Before beginning…

"Children as social actors" and "children's participation" are key concepts in present-day discourse and form a significant paradigm shift for the educational sciences, inspired by sociology of childhood. Some critical comments can however be made on how these concepts are transcribed into practice. A historical perspective,…

In the UK, the ethics of engaging in sociological research directly involving children have primarily been shaped by definitions of "competence". While this has been a crucial guideline for researchers in shaping the concept of informed consent, it has also acted, perhaps inadvertently, as a way of excluding particular children from the…

This article discusses the potential and dilemmas of children's participation in large-scale international events. It focuses on the experience of the International Children's Conference on the Environment (ICCE), which brought together 400 children aged 10-12 from 60 countries around the world. "Partnerships" between children, children and…

This article reports on a reconstruction of some major pragmatic presuppositions in recent Dutch and English discussions in scientific media about the say children should have in devising settlements after parental divorce. Pragmatic presuppositions - such views as discussants implicitly assume to be taken for granted by their audience - were…

The article describes a case study of children and young people's participation and the attendant effects on professional practice and child-adult relations. The authors consider the findings under four headings: professional learning, child-adult relations, childhood memories and the spatial dimensions of change. Evidence indicates that adults…

Reports findings of research into the conduct of in-depth assessments of families by social workers in child protection cases in Britain. Concludes that children are only partially represented in the assessments and that much of what is learned about them is mediated by adult perspectives and actions. (Author)