The meanings of ‘child participation’ in international and European policies on children(’s rights): A content analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the meanings of ‘child participation’ in international and European policy agendas on children(’s rights). The premise here is that policy agendas informed by children’s rights principles have the power to shape what a child can (learn) to do and be in a given society. Furthermore, the policy agendas analysed in this study are underpinned by pedagogical assumptions concerning the socio-cultural construction of childhood as a category and the spaces of participation that are dedicated and/or conceded to flesh-and-blood children. It is crucially important to explore the meanings of the ‘child-participation’ duo of terms as they are used in policy documents, because the values and principles thus conveyed constitute the political framework within which micro-pedagogical learning experiences, involving both children and adults, are constructed.