Peer-reviewed article
Child Participation in Russia: Theoretical and Practical Developments
Т О Арчакова, Elvira Sh. Garifulina ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This article examines how child participation is understood and practised in Russia, looking at both theory and real-world examples. The researchers reviewed academic publications, legal documents, and expert discussions to understand different approaches to involving children in decisions at family, community and organizational levels. They found that Russia does not have a single unified system for child participation, but rather multiple different approaches with varying methodologies. The authors suggest this diversity could be beneficial for developing better practices going forward.
Key points
- Child participation in Russia is understood as an interdisciplinary field involving children's views at multiple levels: everyday life, family, community, organizations and self-government bodies
- Children are conceptualized as reflective actors and co-authors in research and evaluation of social projects
- Russia lacks a unified system of child participation, with different approaches varying in their methodological foundations
- The current lack of standardization does not pose serious threats but may allow for diversification and competition of approaches
- Stakeholder views (specialists, parents, and children) on child participation issues differ and warrant further examination
Limitations
This is a theoretical and descriptive analysis of existing practices and literature rather than an evaluation of specific interventions. The document does not provide quantitative data on the extent of child participation or comparative outcomes between different approaches.
Abstract
The article analyzes the development of practice and development of theoretical grounds for child participation in contemporary Russia. Children’s participation is considered as an interdisciplinary field of research, and as the practice of taking into account children’s views at different levels: in everyday life, in family and in local community, in organizations and in self-government bodies. Children are considered as reflective actors: co-authors of research and evaluation of social projects. The analysis uses publications describing the practice and results of researching children’s participation; key legal documents; materials from expert discussions, as well as data on relevant international experience. Data on the views of various stakeholders — specialists, parents, and children themselves — on the issues of child participation are compared and contrasted. The authors conclude that there is no unified system of child participation in Russia, and the most common approaches to its study vary in their methodological groundings. The current situation does not pose serious controversy and threats to the development of children’s participation; it may be favorable for the diversification and competition of approaches to development of child participation practices and their study. Recommendations are given on the themes of further applied research.