Peer-reviewed article
The What, Why and How of Child Participation—A Review of the Conceptualization of “Child Participation” in Child Welfare
Berit Skauge, Anita Skårstad Storhaug, Edgar Marthinsen ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This review looks at how researchers define and frame "child participation" in child welfare. It examines the theories, models and concepts authors use, and why they think children should take part. Children's rights are a common starting point, but authors differ on whether participation matters for children's own sake (for example their well-being) or for what it achieves in services. The review also looks at how authors measure the level of participation. Most authors set a limited, rights-focused goal for working with children, and a minority question the concept itself.
Key points
- Children's rights are a common starting point for many authors.
- Authors differ on whether children should participate for their intrinsic value (e.g. well-being) or for the instrumental value of participation (e.g. service outcome).
- Most authors presented a limited rights-focused goal for collaboration with children.
- A minority group of authors problematized the concept of child participation.
- Several researchers say participation requires a process, but few see the meaning-making process as its main purpose.
Limitations
Only the abstract is available, so the number of studies reviewed, the search methods and the countries covered are not stated. It is a review of concepts and does not test whether participation improves outcomes for children.
Abstract
This review explores the conceptualization of “child participation” in a child welfare context. The analyses are based on the theories, models and concepts researchers apply when framing their studies. Central to the authors’ conceptualizing is the understanding of why children should participate. Children’s rights are a common starting point for many authors, but they differ on whether children should participate out of consideration for children’s intrinsic value (e.g., concern for their well-being) or for the instrumental value of the participation itself (e.g., service outcome). The analysis also focuses on how authors measure participation level. The analysis showed that most authors presented a limited rights-focused goal for the collaboration with children, while a minority group problematized the concept. Although several researchers emphasize that participation requires a process, few authors see the meaning-making process as the main purpose of child participation.