Peer-reviewed article
What matters for child participation - The role of valuation-based dialogical participation for children living in kinship care in England
Paul Daniel Shuttleworth ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study explored what child participation means to 19 children living in kinship care in England. Using dialogical and visual methods including child-led tours and photo-elicitation, researchers captured children's views on participation in research, welfare services, and family life. The children emphasised that voice and agency are relational, and they valued intergenerational conversations that listen to different perspectives without forcing resolution. Safe, caring discussions that acknowledge interdependence were most valued by the children.
Key points
- Children defined participation as relational rather than individual agency
- Children preferred intergenerational dialogical spaces to explore different views and discuss what matters to them
- Children valued discussions that acknowledged tensions rather than tried to resolve them
- Safe and caring environments where interdependence was recognised aligned with children feeling secure
- Multiple visual and participatory methods enabled children to express their valuations of their own lives
Limitations
This is a small, qualitative study with 19 children in one country context (England), so findings may not generalise to other settings or kinship care arrangements. The study does not evaluate the effectiveness of any specific intervention to improve child participation outcomes.
Abstract
According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child a child has the right to be heard and included in all matters that affect them. Child participation in child welfare research, policy and practice also has instrumental and intrinsic value. However, participation and voice, especially with children, remain contested in how they are applied and theorised. This paper is an extract from research on what matters to 19 children living in kinship care in England. It focusses on the children’s reflections on what child participation means for research, for child welfare services, and for family life. This was the first study to combine a dialogical participative approach with critical realism. Multiple methods such as child-led tours, photo-elicitation, and visual methods were used to capture the children's valuations of their lives and participation. Theory-building alongside the child participants provided empirical certainty with an interpretivist awareness of subjectivities. Analysis of the children’s reflections reveal that voice and agency must be theorised as relational. Furthermore, the children desire inter-generational dialogical spaces to contemplate different views, explore what matters, and out their inner conversations. The children wish for discussions that listen to tensions rather than try to resolve them. Also, appropriate discussions that acknowledged interdependence aligned with the children feeling safe and cared for.