The time children spend in nature has severely decreased. While nature-based learning at school is considered an important strategy in addressing this, numerous knowledge gaps continue to remain. To address these, a systematic review was undertaken. Nine commonly used health and education databases were searched from inception to January 2019. To be included, study participants were required to be children aged 4 to 12 without health or developmental conditions with a focus on nature-based learning. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed, followed by a descriptive synthesis. Out of 4703 results, 20 quantitative studies were included. There was a lack of universal definition of nature-based learning. This resulted in heterogeneity in how interventions were delivered, and outcomes measured. Overall, nature-based learning had varying levels of positive impacts across a range of outcomes. Despite these positive findings, the evidence base is constrained by some methodological issues.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1921117 .
Nicole C. Miller, Saravana Kumar, Karma L. Pearce et al.
This article presents an assessment analysis of the learning outcomes of students with special needs in vocational schools.The limitations of teachers in using test instruments in learning assessments have an impact on the weak feedback on improving learning programs received by students with special needs.This study used a descriptive study method at vocational schools of SMK Negeri 1 and SMK Karsa Mulya Palangka Raya, Indonesia.The study results revealed that teachers in this vocational school had yet to use the category of children with special needs of light, medium, and severe in assessing the learning outcomes of students with special needs.The assessment is based only on the minimum standards set by the school.Then, the assessment pattern given by the teacher based on the minimum completion criteria makes the teacher's responsibility less than optimal in evaluating the learning outcomes of students with special needs, which is characterized by the lack of use of test instruments as an objective measuring tool in formative assessment.
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.
Children and young people living in out-of-home care (OOHC) in Australia have a right, established in policy and State-based legislation, to participate in decisions that impact their day-to-day lives. Despite many positive impacts of participation, there is substantial evidence that children are inconsistently engaged in participatory practices. The risks of re-traumatising children who are likely to have already experienced considerable trauma is a persistent concern in OOHC practice. The dominance of a risk-aversive approach in child protection systems is well established; however, there is little research exploring how caseworker understandings of risk may influence children’s opportunities for participation. To better understand how risk constructions influence participation, seven in-depth interviews were conducted with OOHC caseworkers in the Australian Capital Territory. Through thematic analysis of interviews, findings reveal that destabilising a child’s placement or their physical and emotional wellbeing were viewed as central risks arising from participation. When caseworkers identified concerns about instability, they would often exclude or delay participatory practices to mitigate these perceived risks. This study provides insight into the nuanced considerations of participatory practice with children in OOHC and explores how critically reflexive interpretations of risk and trauma may be effective in strengthening children’s participation.IMPLICATIONSDespite agreement that child participatory practice is essential in out-of-home care (OOHC), findings from this study suggest participation is inconsistent especially for multiply traumatised children.Frontline OOHC caseworkers consider risks to placement stability and children’s physical and emotional wellbeing in determining whether to delay information sharing, include or exclude children from participatory practices.Organisations need to adopt a systemic approach to participation and proactively centre partnerships between children and caseworkers.
This paper explores the complexities surrounding child participation in emergency child welfare (CW) settings, focusing on Norwegian child welfare services professionals (NCWSPs). Based on interviews with 17 NCWPs, we examined how the dual imperatives of protecting children in crisis while respecting their rights to participate in decision-making processes are navigated in practice. Our findings underscore that the challenges faced by professionals in balancing these competing principles are deeply embedded in a binary approach to participation as granting or denying the child’s wishes. The study advocates for the adoption of a deliberative approach as a means to assist professionals in making decisions that are both normatively sound and legitimate, ensuring children's voices are heard without compromising their safety. We argue that such an approach is crucial for ensuring a comprehensive assessment of the child’s best interests, effectively reconciling children’s rights to protection and participation in emergency contexts. In order to achieve this, a team-based approach to assessments and decision-making is considered essential. The analysis is grounded in deliberative theory, which is introduced as a key framework for understanding and enhancing the legitimacy of emergency CW decisions.
May Gresdahl, Halvor Fauske, Anita Skårstad Storhaug
Family functioning and child participation are critical factors in recovery from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and academic and social outcomes. Using mixed methods, we investigated these factors in children who experienced early childhood TBIs and then entered formal U.S. schooling. Caregivers completed interviews and scales of family functioning and child participation. Their scores did not reflect problematic family functioning, but showed participation across settings was below average. Themes from interviews included: (1) early childhood TBIs can affect family functioning even years after the injury; (2) learning, academic, and social-emotional issues impact participation and family functioning following early childhood TBI; and (3) appropriate supports and accessible environments are critical for both family functioning and child participation across settings. Mixed methods analyses indicated convergence, divergence, and expansion between qualitative and quantitative results. Results enhance our understanding of challenges encountered after early childhood TBI and provide directions for future interventions.
The article presents findings from a review of scientific articles about media and information literacy interventions targeted at children and adolescents. More specifically, the review centers on the quantity and quality of child participation in the design of such interventions. The findings indicate that designs with high levels of child participation constitute a minority in the sample. Most of them aim at “behavior-relevant” outcomes, e.g., reduce smoking or obesity. Interventions aimed at “media-relevant” outcomes, e.g., helping children to become competent media users, seem less widespread. Based on these findings, we argue that top-down initiatives to the promotion of media and information literacy among children and adolescents run the risk of becoming irrelevant to the target group, and that child participation in the design of such interventions should be seen as an end in itself, at least if we subscribe to the idea of children’s rights in the digital age.
The Philippines has championed child participation from the drafting of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to the creation of child participation structures in domestic and regional intergovernmental governance. This has been possible because the country has strong anchors that ground CRC in the country. We explore one such anchor, kapwa, a Filipino equivalent for the Western ‘other’ but means more as ‘shared self’ or ‘together with the person’ and identified as a core Filipino value and/or virtue ethics. Using a model of social ontology, we turn this anchor into a ground of child participation. In a kapwa ground, child participation expands from the communicative processes the CRC confines it to social engagements; from fixed and hierarchical child-adult roles to negotiated and interdependent roles. Kapwa child participation also gives way to a kapwa childhood construct that can integrate the diverse Filipino childhood constructs, a construct that acknowledges children’s vulnerability and need of protection as it acknowledges their equality with adults; children are simultaneously human beings and ‘becomings’. In this paper, we present a path, which other investigators or practitioners can follow, to domesticate and to develop alternative local discourses that could enhance global agreements.
Worldwide, children in the care of the state constitute one of the most vulnerable groups in society. They are often not heard, or their views not respected in matters concerning them. This is incongruent with the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) as well as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN, 1989). Guided by a conceptual framework of child participation theory, this article analyses South African legislation and policies to determine how and when child participation is being promoted. Findings indicate that providing information to children on how to participate meaningfully is the key for effective child participation and that practical guidelines should be developed.
Ulene Schiller, Marianne Strydom, Antoinette Lombard et al.
Background: The concept of ‘learner voice’ has received global attention in recent years, frequently credited to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The UNCRC recognises that children have (1) the right to express a view and (2) the right to have the view given due weight. However, in many countries, including South Africa, despite legislation that recognises child rights, there is a relative absence of learner voice and participation in school-level decision-making. Setting: The setting of this continuing professional development (CPD) initiative is GADRA Education, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), in Makhanda Eastern Cape. Method: A consultative participation approach was adopted with Grades 2–4 learners, under the auspices of GADRA Education. Eight child participation consultations were held, followed by a further eight feedback sessions 5 months later. All were audio-recorded. Results: The results of the CPD initiative suggest that the model provides a useful framework for increasing child participation in primary schools. However, further deliberation is necessary ‘with’ learners around choices related to space, audience, and the alternative ‘hat’ of the facilitating teacher. Conclusion: Building on our learning, we aim to develop these ideas further through a more sustained research project, involving not only consultative participation but also collaborative participation and child-led participation. Contribution: Insight into the extent to which the Lundy model of child participation (Lundy 2007) can be used as a framework to guide researchers and practitioners in assisting primary school learners to develop their voice and exert influence in matters concerning them.
