<p>The overall purpose of this study was to deepen our knowledge about dance in general and about</p><p>dance activities for children in particular, in Morocco. Consequently, we attempted to gain insight and</p><p>understanding of the social and political premises to dance in this context. We further intended to</p><p>study how children were involved in dance activities. A qualitative study was carried out during a stay</p><p>of eight weeks in Marrakech. Data was mainly collected through participant observations in the field</p><p>of dance and children and adults were interviewed. In addition, a quantitative based opinion survey</p><p>was carried out among seven dance teachers.</p><p>The results showed that in spite of the fact that traditional folk dancing is frequently practiced in the</p><p>Moroccan culture, there was a difficulty for the art of dance to gain ground. The access to dance</p><p>activities was limited due to insufficient political and economical support and also because of the</p><p>social conceptions prevailing in the Moroccan society. However, dance was highly valued by children</p><p>that took part in dance education. Both children and dance teachers expressed that dancing enhanced</p><p>the children's self esteem, emotional communication and aesthetic experiences. In the light of the</p><p>theory of multiple intelligences the respondents foremost referred to the personal intelligence as being</p><p>promoted by dancing. The perspective of the child did not receive much attention in governmental</p><p>policies. The access to dance activities for children was much relying on the cultural and economic</p><p>capital of the family. Among people involved in the general field of dance, the knowledge on dance</p><p>showed broad and despite the obvious challenges they were eager to continue their work for the art of</p><p>dance.</p><p> </p>

This study is a discourse analysis of media representations of young people’s participation in the summer riots that spread across the UK in August 2011. Drawing on articles published in three UK newspapers The Guardian, The Daily Mail and The Sun this paper critically assesses the ways in which the media identified the behaviour of young people as symptomatic of a general moral decline in British society. Along with the media portrayal of children and young people during these events, the study also highlights the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as a further way of questioning the reporting practices of mainstream media. Articles 2, 12 and 13 will have specific focus in the study, in order to evaluate the media’s recurrent misrepresentation of young people’s participation in decision making on matters concerning their own wellbeing.

The overall purpose of this study was to deepen our knowledge about dance in general and about dance activities for children in particular, in Morocco. Consequently, we attempted to gain insight and understanding of the social and political premises to dance in this context. We further intended to study how children were involved in dance activities. A qualitative study was carried out during a stay of eight weeks in Marrakech. Data was mainly collected through participant observations in the field of dance and children and adults were interviewed. In addition, a quantitative based opinion survey was carried out among seven dance teachers. The results showed that in spite of the fact that traditional folk dancing is frequently practiced in the Moroccan culture, there was a difficulty for the art of dance to gain ground. The access to dance activities was limited due to insufficient political and economical support and also because of the social conceptions prevailing in the Moroccan society. However, dance was highly valued by children that took part in dance education. Both children and dance teachers expressed that dancing enhanced the children's self esteem, emotional communication and aesthetic experiences. In the light of the theory of multiple intelligences the respondents foremost referred to the personal intelligence as being promoted by dancing. The perspective of the child did not receive much attention in governmental policies. The access to dance activities for children was much relying on the cultural and economic capital of the family. Among people involved in the general field of dance, the knowledge on dance showed broad and despite the obvious challenges they were eager to continue their work for the art of dance.

My doctoral research has explored how young children’s participation was put into practice—how it was ‘lived’ and negotiated—in the context of one early learning and childcare setting. The concept of children’s participation is rooted in large part in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), which enshrines children’s right to express their views and have those views taken into account. However, young children’s participation rights are often overlooked. The more prominent discourse about young children has been one that focuses on early childhood as a preparatory period of life, in which adults must intervene and shape children’s development. My research has therefore focused on child-adult relationships within the early childhood setting, looking at how young children and early childhood practitioners ‘lived’ children’s participation and negotiated the tensions and challenges that arose for them. To carry out the research, I used an ethnographic methodology to study one fieldwork site in depth. ‘Castle Nursery’ was an early learning and childcare setting in Scotland, where practitioners professed to work in participatory ways with young children. The long-term nature of ethnography allowed me to observe how children’s participation was lived and negotiated at Castle Nursery over an eight-month period of fieldwork. The research found that practitioners challenged adult-led, ‘schoolified’ practices by foregrounding young children’s knowledge and contributions to the setting. Children’s participation was embedded into play-based pedagogy at Castle Nursery, with practitioners organising time and space to allow young children a great deal of influence over their daily experiences. Rather than planning adult-led learning activities, practitioners instead cultivated a rich learning environment for children to explore, through free-flow play. The thesis has also highlighted a variety of tensions and challenges that arose. Even at Castle Nursery, where practitioners were proud of the ways their work challenged conventional norms about young children, there were limits to how far practitioners would take a participatory approach. The thesis has particularly highlighted the importance of reflective practices about the ethical dimensions of early childhood practice. Uncertainty seemed to be an inevitable and enduring feature of living young children’s participation.

Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child recognised children’s human right to participate in decisions that affect them. Yet, twenty-five years after ratification, children’s participation remains frequently problematic in practice. This thesis examines the practice of NGOs that have been implementing children’s participation at the community level for more than ten years in two specific settings: Tamil Nadu (in south India) and Scotland (UK). The thesis is an explorative study; it examines the findings through two case studies (one in each country). Each case study involved observations/informal discussions and semi-structured interviews with children and staff members from the NGOs. Relevant documents were obtained and scrutinised. The analysis of the empirical data uses three concepts: competencies, child-adult relationships and influence to illuminate and analyse the implementation of children’s participation within the two case studies. Firstly, the empirical analysis highlights that children within children’s participation projects acquired knowledge and skills and then applied them in particular situations within the participation projects (personal and social competencies). Nevertheless, the two case studies showed that adults’ crucial role in legitimising children’s competencies can either facilitate or block children’s participation. Secondly, the child-staff/adults’ relationships were not enough to be considered as the hierarchy within the organisation’s social order was needed to be analysed to have ‘successful’ participation projects. Thirdly, Lundy (2007) provides a model for how adults can be more accountable to children and enhance children’s influence over decision-making in their communities, but some missing elements can undermine the extent to which children’s views are appropriately acted upon. Based on a modification of Lundy’s model, this thesis proposes a tripartite collaborative and intergenerational framework involving the relationships between children and adults in power facilitated by staff members. The thesis contributes to debates about children’s participation by arguing that implementing children’s participation requires a relational and contextual focus on collaboration and intergenerational dialogue. The thesis makes recommendations for practitioners and decision-makers on how to deploy Lundy’s modified perspective to implement children’s constructive participation at the local level.

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), little is known about Saudi educational researchers' perspectives concerning the issue of ethics when recruiting children to participate in research. It has come to light that researchers use children to collect their data from but do not give them the opportunity to express their wishes regarding participation in that research, and no ethical consent form is specifically required for children's use unless the topic of research is sensitive. Accordingly, in the context of KSA, this research aims at identifying and exploring educational researchers' perspectives about children's rights when conducting research with children. This research used two methods: Q-methodology and interview. Q-methodology was used to determine the viewpoints of educational researchers working in education departments at two universities in Riyadh city in the KSA (King Saud University and Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University). Fifty-two (52) female educational researchers sorted 54 Q-methodology statements, according to personal opinion, ranging from (+5) most agree to (-5) most disagree, while the interviews were conducted with three policymakers from the National Commission for Childhood and the Ministry of Education. Following analysis of the data, a number of findings were identified from the Q analysis, five factors, and the interview analysis: the need for more childhood and children's rights studies; the challenges facing researchers when including children as research participants; the weak belief pertaining to children's capabilities; the low level of awareness of children's participation rights and how the ethics process is in the KSA. These findings illustrate the acceptance of ethics as a process in research. Finally, the effectiveness of using Q-methodology as an approach was confirmed. This research is in a position to inform the Saudi research community and policymakers about current understandings and practices in terms of children's participation in research. The viewpoints that emerged strongly indicate agreement with the concept of ethics when children participate in research. Educational researchers call for ethics guidelines and for them to be compulsory in the KSA and, more significantly, policymakers support their demand.

This study examines what frames the Swedish Lev Upp till Barnkonventionen campaign use, and whether the frames are in accordance to the frames suggested by Keck and Sikkink in their award-winning book Activists Beyond Borders. The Swedish Lev Upp till Barnkonventionen campaign is the only campaign in Sweden that aims to promote the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into Swedish law. It started in 2009 as a network driven by 7 organizations, UNICEF, BRIS, World Childhood Foundation, Swedish Save the Children (Rädda Barnen), ECPAT, Plan Sverige and SOS-Barnbyar, together with the Swedish Children‟s Ombudsman (Barnombudsman). An ideational analysis of the texts, that the campaign uses to appeal to society and persuade, shows that four frames are frequently used within the campaign. Two of the frames are in accordance with the proposed frames, being "bodily harm to innocent and vulnerable people" and "legal inequality". The other two frames set the problem to be poverty/economic vulnerability or psychological harm. Although, all four frames identified follow the three parts a frame should include according to Keck and Sikkink – a problem, a cause with a short causal chain and a specific type of action to solve the problem. This study has contributed with another case study to the limited amount of cases that study how international norms are framed in national contexts. Furthermore, this study has discovered that Sweden, although is using other frames too, use the frames that Keck and Sikkink have proposed.

There has been a growing awareness of human rights, specifically children rights, over the past 20 years. Children with intellectual disabilities are often described as a vulnerable group, with limited opportunities to fully participate in society and act as meaningful contributors. Primary caregivers are responsible to act in their child’s best interest and hence their perception of children’s rights is important. The role that they play in their child with disabilities’ life and how they promote their child’s rights, can never be ignored. The main aim of this study was to describe the extent to which Afrikaans-speaking primary caregivers perceive that the basic needs of their children between 8;0 and 14;11 (years;months) with intellectual disabilities are being met, in an attempt to describe their rights as set out by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The UNCRC is a widely accepted body of which South Africa is a signatory. Forty-nine participants who met the selection criteria were asked to complete a questionnaire, consisting of biographical information, the Ten Questions Questionnaire (TQQ), and questions related to needs and rights of children with disabilities as set out by the UNCRC. Participants were mostly older, married mothers who had only a Grade 10 or lower qualification. Either themselves or their spouses were in full-time employment, and they were part of the low to middle socio-economic group. Results revealed that the majority of primary caregivers believed that their children with intellectual disabilities understood them when they told their children to do something and could speak and say recognizable words, whilst less than half of the primary caregivers reported that their children’s speech was different from normal. More than half of the primary caregivers indicated that their children learn to do things in the same way as typically developing peers. With regard to different assistive devices, the majority of primary caregivers felt that their children’s needs were met in respect to different assistive devices. This study revealed that primary caregivers most frequently mentioned intangible rights such as self-esteem rights (which included attitudes, acceptance, respect and equality. The study contributed to an improved understanding of Afrikaans-speaking primary caregivers’ perception of their children with intellectual disabilities’ needs as a starting point for claiming their human rights. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / unrestricted

Den här litteraturöversiktens syfte är att undersöka vilka begränsningar och möjligheter som finns för arbetet med barns inflytande i förskolan, utifrån artikel 12 i Barnkonventionen och Shiers (2001; 2010) delaktighetsmodell. Barnkonventionen har funnits sedan 1989, och har ratificerats av ett stort antal länder. I Sverige har Barnkonventionen varit lag sedan den 1 januari 2020, vilket gör frågan aktuell. Studierna i litteraturöversikten kommer från olika länder i världen och är utförda i olika former av förskoleliknande verksamhet, för barn upp till 6 år. Artikelförfattarna har använt olika metoder för att undersöka hur barn i förskolan får inflytande över verksamheten, bland annat observationer, intervjuer och enkäter. Resultaten visar att barn i många fall har visst inflytande, men att det är de vuxna i förskolan som har makten att dela med sig av inflytandet till barnen. Om vuxna inte delar med sig, kommer barnens inflytande att vara inget eller litet. Det är också viktigt att barn för att kunna använda sitt inflytande, får undervisning i hur de kan ska kunna göra det på ett bra sätt. Resultaten visar att pedagoger behöver förhålla sig på olika sätt till barnen beroende på deras ålder. De yngre barnen behöver pedagoger som är med dem i leken och andra situationer för att deras initiativ till inflytande ska uppmärksammas och göra skillnad. De äldre barnen visar sig ta större initiativ till inflytande när pedagoger tar ett steg tillbaka och låter barnen förhandla och kompromissa med varandra, istället för med pedagogen. Huvudmän och ledare för förskoleverksamhet behöver göras uppmärksamma på vilken kompetens som krävs hos pedagoger i förskolan för att barn ska få inflytande över verksamheten. Mer forskning behövs, för att undersöka i vilken grad barn behöver närvarande vuxna för att utöva inflytande på ett bra sätt. / This literature review aims to investigate the possibilities and obstacles for child participation in early childhood education, related to article 12 in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The UNCRC was adopted in 1989, and has since then been ratified by most countries. In Sweden the UNCRC has been a national law, since January 1st 2020. The studies in this review were made in different countries from all over the world, in different types of early childhood education for children 6 years or younger. The results show that children do have participation in some ways, but that child participation is dependent on educators who share their power with the children. They also show that children need to be educated in their right to participation to practice their rights in a good way. An additional result shows that younger children need educators to take part in their doings, to make sure their initiative to agency is being noticed and taken care of. Older children need the educator to take a step back from their role as a leader, and let the children negotiate with each other instead of with the educator. Additional research is needed to study the connection between educators grade of power and children’s participation in different ages.

Abstrakt Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att lyfta fram barns tankar om parlamentarisk politik och samhällsfrågor utifrån deras perspektiv. Uppsatsen är av kvalitativ art och vi har använt oss både av fokusgrupp och individuella intervjuer. Vi har inspirerats av tidigare forskning där barn som medborgare och FN:s barnkonvention artikel 12 är i fokus för att öka legitimiteten i vår studie. Uppsatsen har utgått ifrån politisk teori, socialisationsprocessen, genus och gruppstyrda. Vi har fått resultat ur både grupp och individperspektiv som stärker barn som tänkande individer utan rättslig handlingsförmåga. Trots att barn inte talar vuxenspråk har de åsikter om och påverkas av den omvärld de lever i. Den grupp med barn vi har lyssnat på kunde inte mycket om politiska partier, däremot kunde de mycket om fattigdom, ebola och välgörenhet. De hade problem med partiledarnas namn, däremot berättade de för oss hur de upplever skolmiljön och gav förslag till förbättringar i skolan. Ur barnens perspektiv har vi försökt fånga essensen i deras ord. / Abstract The purpose of this paper is to highlight children’s thoughts regarding issues of society and politics. Our paper is qualitative and we´ve used both a focus group and several individual interviews. We were inspired by previous research in which children, as citizens, are in focus. We also used UNCRC article 12 in order to increase the legitimacy of our study. The thesis has been based on political theory, socialization, gender and other-directed. We have received results from groups and individuals perspective that strengthen children as thinking individuals without legal capacity. Although children do not use adult speech, they have opinions and are influenced by the society they live in. The group of children we listened to didn´t know much about political parties, they did, however, know about poverty, Ebola and charity. They had problems naming the leaders of political parties, but could tell us how they perceived the school-environment and suggested improvements while we interviewed them. We´ve tried to capture the essence of the childrens words in their perspective.