Children's Views Research Articles

The Subjective Well-Being of Children in Transnational and Non-Migrant Households: Evidence from Thailand.

To date, research that includes children's views on parental migration has been insufficient. Based on the children's assessment of well-being, we use a case study of Thailand to ask whether children of overseas migrant parents are less or more resilient compared to children of non-migrant parents. We make use of data from the Child Health and Migrant Parents in South-East Asia (CHAMPSEA) Project, one of the few studies that provide space for children, both of migrant and non-migrant parents, to voice their views. Our sample includes 496 children aged 9 to 11 years old. The outcome variable captures children's subjective well-being as an indicator of whether they are a resilient child. Our multivariate analysis controls for other potential contributing factors, including the children's individual attributes, carer's mental health, parents' education, family functioning as reported by the children, and household economic status in order to investigate the effects of parental migration. Qualitative information from in-depth interviews with selected carers and group interviews with community leaders are also used to explain the results. Our findings highlight the importance of taking into account children's own perceptions. Compared to children of non-migrant parents, those of migrant parents are more likely to give a positive assessment of their own well-being. The other contributing factors include whether the child sees their family as functioning well. In Thailand, international migration is predominantly undertaken by fathers while childcare remains the responsibility of mothers, and public attitudes towards overseas migration, especially paternal migration, is generally favorable. This may help explain the positive perception of children of migrants towards themselves.

Asking difficult questions: exploring research methods with children on painful issues

Assumptions about a child's competence to voice an opinion often inhibit efforts to find effective methods for participation. Answers to questions are sought from the significant adults who surround a child [Morris, J. 2003. “Including All Children: Finding Out about the Experiences of Children with Communication and/or Cognitive Impairments.” Children and Society 17: 337–348.]. Indeed, methods that ask adults rather than children about children's lives have often been justified as the only way in which a ‘truth’ [Westcott, H. L., and K. S. Littleton. 2005. “Exploring Meaning in Interviews with Children.” In Researching Children's Experience: Approaches and Methods. London: Sage] may be established as to how it feels to be that child, whatever their age. This stance has been increasingly challenged [Clark, A., and P. Moss 2001. Listening to Young Children the Mosaic Approach. Norwich: National Children's Bureau] with the argument that only by ‘giving them a direct and unfettered voice’ [Winter, K. 2006. “Widening Our Knowledge Concerning Young Looked After Children: The Case for Research Using Sociological Models of Childhood.” Child and Family Social Work 11: 55–64; Winter, K. 2010. “Ascertaining the Perspectives of Young Children in Care: Case Studies using Reality Boxes.” Children and Society: The International Journal of Childhood and Children's Services 61] can children's views be properly sought and represented. Research looking at the experiences of children when they were taken into the care of the local authority meant that some difficult, complex, sometimes painful questions may be asked. In this paper, I explore the development and use of creative, interactive methods with children aged 4–13 that facilitated their participation and avoided causing undue distress. I also debate the importance of engaging with children where their circumstances and past experiences are distressful arguing that a relationship where listening carefully is paramount enables the child's voice to be heard.

Knowledge and Attitudes about Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and its Treatment: The Views of Children, Adolescents, Parents, Teachers and Healthcare Professionals

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neuro-developmental disorder that causes controversy; this may have a negative effect on the ability of families, teachers and healthcare professionals to achieve shared understanding and goals. This article reviews recent research of the knowledge and attitudes of children, adolescents, parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and the public about ADHD. Findings suggest that misconceptions about ADHD persist, and children with ADHD and their parents report stigmatizing experiences. Educational interventions to improve the knowledge of teachers about ADHD appeared to be effective in the short term. Parents and professionals working together in the diagnosis and treatment of children with ADHD may have different views about their roles in the shared decision-making process. Studies have reported both similarities and differences in parents' and professionals' views about the effectiveness of treatments for ADHD, but all stakeholders supported the principles of information-sharing and working in partnership.

Home and away: constructing family and childhood in the context of working parenthood

Little is known about children's views and experiences of their parents’ work−life reconciliation and how these are negotiated in everyday family practices. This article examines families' experiences of work−life reconciliation from both children's and parents' perspectives, drawing on a qualitative longitudinal study with 14 families in Scotland. Such experiences have implications for the spatial and temporal construction of family and childhood in the UK, where working parenthood is increasingly the norm.

Practitioners' Opinions of Best Interests of the Child in Australian Legislation

An online survey of 710 Australian practitioners working in child and family law investigated their views on the best interests of the child (BIC) criteria enumerated in s60CC of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). This research inquired about BIC applied to younger (1–2 years) versus older (11–12 years) children. A mixed-model (within and between) analysis of variance demonstrated that 14 of 24 s60CC criteria have more significance for older children. Protecting the child from harm was rated most important regardless of the child's age, whereas the rated importance of a relationship with both parents was more variable. The criterion with the greatest variability for age was “the child's views”. Exploratory factor analysis suggested that the high number of s60CC criteria encompass common underlying themes and some redundancy. Findings and implications are reviewed in relation to BIC decision-making and the weight accorded to particular issues by various practitioners.

A Voice for Children and Young People in the City

AbstractA major challenge for researchers and urban planning practitioners is how to obtain meaningful and influential contributions on urban and environmental planning activities from children and young people within the constraints of adult policy and practice. The key elements of this challenge concern traditional methods of communication between ‘experts’ and children and young people in rationalist planning settings, versus emerging research in relation to children's and young people's views and agency around civic participation. This article will address the work of a number of researchers and practitioners who have grappled with the inherent tenions of making planning practice and urban design more inclusionary, while facilitating and respecting children and young people's civic participation. This article also advocates the advantages and strengths of their participation in planning and urban design processes.With a focus on two exploratory programs developed by the authors in the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria, this article will demonstrate how the sharing of knowledge and skills between planning and design professionals and children and young people can lead to more meaningful and influential contributions from them. The programs examined were informed by leading practice both in Australia and internationally, and have assisted to develop children and young people's sense of spatial competence, and their confidence and efficacy in their local environment, contributing ultimately to their wellbeing. They have also supported the establishment of youth leadership groups with the confidence and skills to contribute to ongoing local government urban and environmental planning activities.

Perceiving change in role play

The processes of children giving roles to themselves, their peers, and toys are studied in this article. The children's ideas are related to the changes in their learning environment, thus producing new content for learning. The participants of the study consisted of 1382 children in Finland and Taiwan. The methods included observation based on systematic sampling in a natural setting, open interviews to study the children's views on change, educators' evaluations of the children's skills, and educators' evaluations of the learning environment. Role play seemed to take place mostly in free play together with peers without the supervision of educators. Role play was found to include deep processes which make it promising for learning. The children who engaged in more role play were more popular than the other children. These children had strong agentive views which they were not ready to give up or were unwilling to accommodate others' views. The pedagogical implications of the results are discussed.

Exploring children's perceptions of forgiveness at the interpersonal and political levels: emerging evidence in Cyprus

This article presents a case study of an action research investigation at a Greek-Cypriot classroom that explores 10–11-year-old children's perceptions of forgiveness at both the interpersonal and the political levels. The study indicates that participant children view forgiveness from a variety of perspectives that do not seem to differ a lot from adults; these perspectives, although not fully mature, reveal the complex elements of offering and asking for forgiveness. The following three perspectives are identified in the findings: children's reasons to ask for forgiveness; children's views on the conditions to offer forgiveness and children's perceptions of forgiveness at the political level. The findings have important implications for designing educational interventions on forgiveness.

Effects of Perceived Parental Attitudes on Children's Views of Smoking

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of perceived parental attitudes on children's discernment of cigarettes. The study sample consisted of 250 children attending grades 6, 7 and 8. Data were collected via a socio-demographic survey questionnaire, the Parental Attitude Scale (PAS) and the Decisional Balance Scale (DBS). Data analysis covered percentages, medians, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc tests using a statistical package. There were 250 participants; 117 were male, 133 were female. The mean age was 13.1 ± 0.98 for the females and 13.3 ± 0.88 for the males. A statistically significant difference was found in the children's mean scores for 'pros' subscale on the Decisional Balance Scale (DBS) according to perceived parental attitudes (F=3.172, p=0.025). There were no statistically significant differences in the DBS 'cons' subscale scores by perceived parental attitudes. It was determined that while perceived parental attitudes affect children's views on advantages of smoking, they have no effect on children's views on its disadvantages.

Examination of Parent's Views about their 60-77 Months Old Children's Maturity of Primary School

The concept of school readiness typically refers to the child's attainment of a certain set of emotional, behavioral and cognitive skills needed to learn, work and function successfully in school. Unfortunately, the common philosophy of “ready for school” can be understood by parents and caregivers as children's readiness for the expectations of school (Marquez, 2006). In a more constructive way school readiness concept has many aspects, for example; while attending to a school, children must cope with many new demands; they must meet new academic challenges, learn new school and teacher expectations, and gain acceptance into a new peer group. In the entrance to a school, chronological age is an important factor, but also factors like; gender, previous experience, social skills, intellegence, general health and family composition, well- being, and socioeconomic status play important role. In Turkey obligation to attend primary school age was 6-7 years old. In 2012-2013 educational year, Turkish Ministry of Education changed the compulsory education period to twelve years and the attendence of compulsory education period was changed to 5-6 years old. The aim of the study is to examine parent's views about their children's readiness and maturity attending to primary school. 60-80 months old of children attending four different primary schools took part in the study. An inquiry consisting of questions about children's basic developmental areas, academic skills and school maturity was prepared for the study. The inquiry was applied to voluntary parents. The view of parents were examined according to children's age. No significant differences were found between older and younger children's parents views.

A Practitioner's View of Children Making Spiritual Meanings in Bereavement

Little attention has been given to how bereaved children make meaning after the death of someone important to them and how they manage changes in their belief systems and worldviews. Some children, even very young ones, may be challenged in their beliefs about an afterlife or the nature or existence of God. Children may be confused by differing worldviews around them at home, in school, or in their communities. Examples are offered of such crises emerging for children after bereavement and challenges this may present for the practitioner. The article calls for more research in this area to support social workers and other professionals as well as parents in helping bereaved children suffering spiritual dilemmas in bereavement.

Stepfamily Functioning and Closeness: Children's Views on Second Marriages and Stepfather Relationships

Current research on stepfamily well-being often overlooks the perspective of children, and deals primarily with factors as reported by the adults involved. The authors examine a number of family role characteristics, parental subsystem characteristics, and resources that might influence how children perceive the quality of their stepfamily relationships. A sample of 1,088 children in households with a mother and stepfather, ages 10 to 16 years, in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort-Children and Young Adult Sample, is used for the analyses. Results indicate that open communication between children and their mothers, low amounts of arguing between mothers and stepfathers, along with agreement on parenting, and gender, all affect the closeness children report having with their stepfathers. Conclusions, limitations, and clinical implications are discussed.

Mobile phones, risk and responsibility: Understanding children’s perceptions

This study explores children's perceptions of risk and mobile phones in their everyday lives. Technological developments associated with capitalist society are entwined with the risk discourse, but little account has previously been taken of children's views in social analyses of risk. Based on the accounts of thirty young people in the UK aged between 11 – 17 this study adopts a social constructivist perspective to offer a theoretical framework which explores how children themselves actually use mobile phone technologies and understand and manage risk in their everyday lives.Implications of risk and mobile phones are reflected in current media discourse and contemporary public discussions. This research explores the relationship between young people's use of mobile phone technology and the wider theoretical debates about risk, technology and subjectivity. It provides insight into the social aspects of risk and mobile phones in contemporary childhoods.The children in the research were reflexive in their understanding of risk and mobile phones and actively managed risk through their mobile phone use. Their accounts highlight the complex, multifarious relationships of the heterogeneous networks of the technical, the social and the natural that constitute children's everyday lives.

Authenticity, Trauma and the Child's View: Martha Blend's A Child Alone, Vera Gissing's Pearls of Childhood and Ruth L. David's Ein Kind unserer zeit

Authenticity, Trauma and the Child's View: Martha Blend's A Child Alone, Vera Gissing's Pearls of Childhood and Ruth L. David's Ein Kind unserer zeit

What Third-Grade Students of Differing Ability Levels Learn about Nature of Science after a Year of Instruction

This study explored third-grade elementary students' conceptions of nature of science (NOS) over the course of an entire school year as they participated in explicit-reflective science instruction. The Views of NOS-D (VNOS-D) was administered pre instruction, during mid-school year, and at the end of the school year to track growth in understanding over time. The Young Children's Views of Science was used to describe how students conversed about NOS among themselves. All science lessons were videotaped, student work collected, and a researcher log was maintained. Data were analyzed by a team of researchers who sorted the students into low-, medium-, and high-achieving levels of NOS understandings based on VNOS-D scores and classwork. Three representative students were selected as case studies to provide an in-depth picture of how instruction worked differentially and how understandings changed for the three levels of students. Three different learning trajectories were developed from the data describing the differences among understandings for the low-, medium-, and high-achieving students. The low-achieving student could discuss NOS ideas, the medium-achieving student discussed and wrote about NOS ideas, the high-achieving student discussed, wrote, and raised questions about NOS ideas.

Privileging Younger Children's Voices in Research: Use of Drawings and a Co-Construction Process

The growing acknowledgement of the value of listening to children's views and experiences in social research, popularly termed as “listening to their voices,” brings with it methodological consequences. Regarding children as expert informants about their own lives carries with it the simultaneous call for researchers to be experts in developing and employing appropriate strategies that can effectively elicit the insights that children can bring to a research topic. With younger children, the use of participatory methodologies has been foregrounded as the key to unlocking their potential to contribute rich and useful perspectives to inform research into their lives. This article explores the usefulness of employing preschoolers' drawings within the context of a co-construction process to facilitate the children's construction of ideas and reinforce their voices in research. The case is made that the quality of the dialogical engagement is as important as the drawing itself, and both visual images and the verbal exchanges are central to the children's meaning-making process. In the co-construction process, both adult and child are (ideally) equal players and the resulting dialogical process plays a major role in the constitution of the phenomena. The role of the researcher as the co-constructor can be a challenging one because it entails engaging and supporting children's views and the expression of these views. The discussion and illustrations from the first author's research projects contribute to the literature base on positioning preschool children as valid social actors in their communities.We operate through an ethos of empowerment of all participants, and aim for participatory research practice which has at its heart an active involvement in promoting the rights of children as citizens with voice and power. (Pascal & Bertram, 2009, p. 249)

Part 2: Living theory action research and Adlerian psychology: The alongside approach of a mother

This article is the second of two reporting the findings of a collaborative enquiry that continued over 4 months to understand and explain their learning. A mother joins a health visitor in a collaborative enquiry to solve her baby's sleeplessness. She begins to explore a dilemma between parenting that respects the child's view, while also having the courage to guide him. Alongsideness is a middle road between parent-centred ‘controlled crying’ and a child-centred approach appropriate to his development. She reflects on applying alongsideness principles to her future parenting and on her experiences of health visiting.

Assessment and Quantification of Taiwanese Children's Views of a Good Death

The concept of a "good death" reflects an individual's positive perceptions of and expectations about death. What constitutes a good death varies based on factors such as sociocultural norms, time, space, and even individual characteristics such as age, culture, and health status. Kehl (2006) maintained that this definitional ambiguity has impeded the implementation of measures intended to appropriately assist the dying because it has been difficult to determine what clinical evaluations and caregiving practices should be used to provide patients with more than "a good death" as it is medically defined. Thus, a more comprehensive and systematic conceptual understanding of this concept is urgently necessary.

Children’s Self-Reported Quality of Life After Intensive Care Treatment*

A number of studies have reported on parental/clinician reports of children's quality of life after intensive care treatment. The aim of this study was to establish children's own views of their outcome. [corrected]. Prospective cohort study. [corrected]. Twenty-one bed PICU in a tertiary Children's Hospital. Ninety-seven children aged over 7 yr, with no preexisting learning difficulties, consecutively admitted to PICU over an 18 month period Patients completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory and a post-traumatic stress screener, at 3 months and again at 1 year (n = 72) after discharge from PICU. At 3 months post-discharge, the mean total Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory score reported by the PICU group was lower than that reported in the literature for a non-clinical community sample (PICU mean = 79.1 vs community mean = 83.9, p = 0.003), but by 1 year, they were comparable (82.2, p = 0.388). The mean physical functioning subscale score remained lower (PICU mean=81.6 vs. community mean=88.5, p = 0.01), but improved significantly from 73.4 at 3 months (p = 0.001).Sub-group analyses revealed that the elective group reported higher emotional functioning than the community sample (91.0, p=0.005 at 3 months and 88.2, p = 0.038 at 1 year vs community mean=78.5), and made significant gains in social functioning between timepoints (79.1 to 91.4, p = 0.015).Finally, although total PedsQL scores at 1 year were not associated with measures of severity of illness during admission, they were significantly negatively associated with concurrent post-traumatic stress symptom scores (r = -0.40, p = 0.001). The self-report version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory proved to be a feasible and sensitive tool for assessing health related quality of life in this group of PICU survivors.

Confusa la historia y clara la pena: The Child's Perspective in El Sur and Bene, by Adelaida Garcia Morales

This article considers what the use of a young girl's perspective contributes to Adelaida García Morales's gothic novellas, El Sur and Bene. It explores types of reliability and unreliability associated with a child's eye view, noting how these apply to the presentation of the supernatural and adult sexuality. It goes on to identify a disjunction between how adults, on the one hand, and children, on the other, respond to the culturally entrenched idea that the young should be protected from the evils of the world, observing in conclusion that this can result in a state of exclusion and frightening incomprehension analogous to the position of the adult receiver of a horror story.