Peer-reviewed article
Child participation: Child contributors’ reflections on their experiences
Madri Jansen van Rensburg, Desiré Jansen van Rensburg ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study documents children's experiences of participating in developing a child-friendly version of a National Child Participation Framework. Children were asked to reflect on their involvement through surveys and open-ended questions. Children reported positive experiences including enjoyment, learning, increased awareness of their rights, and feeling valued when their contributions were recognized. The study argues that including children in developing materials for and about them improves the quality and uptake of those materials.
Key points
- Children reported six main positive themes from participation: enjoyment, satisfaction with contributions, learning new information, awareness of rights, contributing to others' lives, and feeling valued and recognized
- Children felt taken seriously when seeing their ideas, artwork and recommendations in the final printed document
- A participatory approach enhances uptake and dissemination of information designed for children
- Evaluators often wrongly assume negative consequences of child participation, preventing inclusion, while children report positive outcomes
- The participatory process empowered child participants
Limitations
The document does not specify which countries the study was conducted in, the number of children involved, or their age ranges. It does not provide comparative data on whether materials developed with child participation are actually used more effectively than those developed without such participation.
Abstract
Background: Child participation is critical for evaluation in the light of all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and leaving no one behind. Resilience Analysis Consulting developed a child-friendly version (CFV) of the National Child Participation Framework (NCPF). To ensure participation and optimal use of the document, children were included in all aspects of the document development. Objectives: In this study children reflect on their experiences. This provides insight for document development and more widely into child participation in interventions for children and the evaluation of such interventions. It further highlights the value of child participation and encourages evaluators to include children. Methods: The children who assisted in the development of the document were asked to reflect on the process and their experiences through an open-ended survey. Scales were used to investigate the benefits. Open-ended questions were thematically analysed. Results: The experiences included the following main themes: (1) enjoyment of the project activities, (2) satisfaction with contributions, (3) learning new information, (4) being more aware of children’s rights and participation in society, (5) contributing to other children’s lives and (6) the importance of recognition and being valued. Seeing their ideas, artwork and recommendations in print made them feel that they were taken seriously. Conclusion: A participatory approach when developing materials for children enhances the uptake and dissemination of information. Children contribute unique and valuable perspectives to the evaluation process. Evaluators wrongly assume negative consequences, preventing them from including children, while children report positive outcomes. The process empowered child participants.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Including children as contributors in all aspects of developing a child-friendly version of a National Child Participation Framework, including reflecting on their experiences through surveys and open-ended questions
- Population
- Children who assisted in the development of a child-friendly National Child Participation Framework document
Key finding
Children identified six main positive themes from participation: enjoyment, satisfaction with contributions, learning, awareness of rights, contribution to others, and feeling valued