The purpose of the study is to explore children’s experiences of yoga and its influence on their well-being and everyday lives. The study uses qualitative methods and thematic analysis is chosen as it provides flexibility to combine theoretical assumptions with qualitative data. Analysis is based on two focus group interviews that ask about children’s views of yoga, experience of doing yoga, feelings about yoga, any differences with other physical activities, and their experience before and after yoga. The children involved in the study appeared to experience yoga in different ways, but the majority of them agreed that yoga is a positive influence on their lives. The results of this study propose that according to children’s perspectives the practice of yoga supports physical fitness and is a calm, peaceful and relaxing activity and supports the children’s understanding of their capacity and competence and helped them to reduce unstable or negative emotions. Overall, children’s perspective of yoga shows the meaning of their view and experience both in the studio and in everyday life that will give some insights to yoga teachers and studio owners; and yoga practice might contribute to social support for children both physically and mentally.

This thesis aims to examine children's perceptions of decision-making at the Swedish preschool context by exploring children's voices. This qualitative work is motivated by the United Nations Rights of the Child that became law on the 1st of January 2020 in Sweden. Article 3 about the child's best interests and Article 12 about the voices of the children to be respected are important fundamentals in the preschool context. Therefore, it is crucial to eavesdrop children's perspectives on decision-making in relation to children's rights and what children's rights mean for them since the matter of children's rights concerns children more than anyone else. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four 5-year old children at a preschool located in Sweden. Also, the drawing method was used to collect data, making the process more child-friendly and engaging. By using thematic analysis, three main themes emerged: children as decision-makers in the preschool, children as nondecision-makers in the preschool and to be heard at the preschool. Moreover, from the first theme, two subthemes arose: children deciding in the play and children deciding when eating and resting that identified in which situations perceive children themselves as decision-makers. The three subthemes that arose from the second theme were "The teachers!", Daily routines and "Deciding in the play but…" that present children's perceptions on why they are not decision-makers in those particular situations. The findings showed that the children perceive that they can have more influence on play and planned activities than on the daily routines of lunch time, sleeping/resting time or fruit time.

This thesis was motivated by the widespread use of social media by children, and the lack of research on perceptions of their own use. It expands on previous research which, while sometimes including children’s voices, largely focuses on the negative impact that social media has on well-being. Instead, this thesis seeks insight into children’s views on their and their peers use of social media, what motivates their particular use, and how they describe the positive and negative experiences of it. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with children between 12 and 15 years old and thematic analysis was used to consider the data, along with an interpretivist and contextualist epistemological approach. The themes included, firstly; social media as a place for children to connect and to spend time, secondly; positive experiences that included, learning and inspiration, fun and happiness, and perspective taking, thirdly; negative experiences relating to privacy and anonymity, bullying and bad feelings, and a lack of social clues, and lastly; a particular peer culture which included gender differences as part of their experience of using social media. The study concludes that, though research on social media and children has been largely looked at in terms of risk, children see it as a normalized aspect of childhood where they socialize with friends, spend time playing and learning about different things, and hang out with their peers. Social media is described as a neutral tool by the children. With this notion of neutrality, by further understanding children’s experiences and perspectives, there could be more support in ensuring that this tool is shaped and used in a way that works more in their best interest. Social media is inevitably a big part of children’s leisure time today, and ‘moral panic’, being a persistent rhetoric around childhood, may not be helpful for children.

Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva och analysera hur socialsekreterare förhåller sig till barns möjligheter att komma till tals i sociala utredningar. Vi valde att utgå från frågeställningarna: Hur definierar socialsekreterare barns möjligheter att komma till tals? Vilken betydelse tillskriver socialsekreterare barns möjligheter att komma till tals? Vad anser socialsekreterare påverkar barns möjligheter att komma till tals? Vilka arbetssätt, modeller eller verktyg använder sig socialsekreterare av för att möjliggöra att barn kommer till tals? För att besvara syftet har vi genomfört sex individuella intervjuer samt en fokusgruppsintervju med socialsekreterare som arbetar med sociala utredningar som rör barn. Det insamlade datamaterialet har sedan analyserats utifrån en kunskapsöversikt bestående av tidigare forskning och annan relevant litteratur samt Shiers delaktighetsmodell. Resultatet visar att socialsekreterare upplever att det är viktigt att barn ges möjlighet att komma till tals samt att det finns en rad olika faktorer som påverkar barns möjligheter att komma till tals. En framstående faktor kan kopplas till föräldrars attityder och inställningar till socialtjänsten. Även barnets förutsättningar har betydelse i form av exempelvis inställning, ålder och förmåga att uttrycka sig. Socialtjänsten kan också påverka genom vilka riktlinjer och rutiner en arbetsplats har och vilket tidsutrymme som finns för barnsamtal. Vidare visar resultatet att socialsekreterare har ett flertal praktiska hjälpmedel att tillgå för att underlätta barnsamtal. De viktigaste slutsatserna avser att barns möjlighet att komma till tals är något som bör främjas i sociala utredningar, att det är viktigt för socialsekreterare att ha ett flexibelt arbetssätt samt att barns möjligheter att komma till tals förändras i takt med stigande ålder och ökad mognadsnivå.

Cette thèse met l’accent sur les paroles des enfants-acteurs colligés alors qu’ils vivaient le processus de choix scolaire durant le moment de transition entre paliers élémentaire et secondaire en milieu minoritaire. Ce choix de problématique est motivé par le fait que le domaine du choix scolaire est dominé par des adultes qui décident, qui parlent pour les enfants concernés ou bien qui les catégorisent par ce processus sans pour autant inclure les enfants dans les recherches sur un processus qui les concerne directement. Par ailleurs, l’intérêt particulier pour le choix de la langue d’instruction du projet m’a incitée à mener une étude comparée internationale pour mieux comprendre les particularités et similarités des vécus des enfants de la Corse et de l’Ontario, deux territoires fortement marqués par les questions sociolinguistiques. La question de recherche principale de cette thèse est la suivante : quels processus conduisent les enfants de l’Ontario et de la Corse à poursuivre ou non leur scolarité dans une école ou une filière de langue minoritaire ou majoritaire? Ma position épistémologique de chercheure interprétative, critique et réflexive encadre mon intérêt scientifique aux paroles des enfants-participants. La méthodologie du projet constitue une étude de cas comparative de type ethnographique. En outre, les outils de collecte de données, soit l’observation participante, le questionnaire et l’entrevue semi-dirigée, ainsi qu’une analyse des contextes scolaire, familial et national permettent une analyse plus rigoureuse et holistique des cas étudiés. L’analyse dévoile que le processus de choix scolaire représente une convergence des métiers d’élève, d’enfant et d’enfant-citoyen dans la construction du projet personnel de chaque enfant quant à son avenir scolaire et social. Qui plus est, cette analyse fait poindre le besoin de mieux accompagner les enfants au cours des processus de choix et de transition scolaire qu’ils vivent, de mieux outiller, voire informer, les parents quant à ces processus et à repenser l’éducation civique en milieu minoritaire. La contribution au domaine éducationnel de cette thèse est importante à plusieurs égards, notamment par rapport 1) à la place centrale qu’occupent les paroles des enfants-participants; 2) au regard particulier sur le choix de la langue d’instruction en milieu minoritaire et 3) à la visée comparative et au rapprochement des cas de l’Ontario et de la Corse qui font progresser la compréhension des enjeux de l’éducation en milieu minoritaire. / This thesis focuses on the voices of children, accessed as they were living the school choice process during the transition between elementary and secondary school in minority language contexts. The aforementioned research agenda is motivated by the fact that the field of school choice is dominated by adults who decide, who speak for children or who categorize children without including children in research regarding a process that concerns them directly. Moreover, my particular interest in the choice of language of instruction in minority language communities has prompted me to conduct an international, comparative educational research project to better understand the similarities and particularities of experiences lived by children in Corsica and in Ontario, two contexts strongly influenced by sociolinguistic issues. The following principal research question guides this thesis : what processes lead children of Ontario and Corsica to pursue, or abandon, their education in the minority or majority language?My interpretive, critical, and reflexive epistemological position frames my scientific interest in the voices of child participants. The project’s methodology is a comparative case study that is influenced by an ethnographic lens. The data collection tools, participant observation, questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews—as well analyses of school, family and national contexts—allow for a holistic and rigorous analysis of the cases studied. These analyses reveal that the process of school choice represents a convergence of student, child, and child-citizen occupations (or métiers) in the construction of the child’s personal project regarding his or her own academic and social future. Furthermore, this analysis illuminates the need to better support children during the school choice and transition processes, to better equip and to better inform parents concerning these processes, and to rethink civic education in minority language communities. The contribution of this thesis to the field of education is important in several respects, particularly in relation to 1) its placement of child voice at the forefront of the research; 2) its particular focus on the choice of language of instruction in minority language contexts; and, 3) its comparative element which connects the cases of Ontario and Corsica and, so doing, advances the understanding of minority language education.

The purpose of this study is to give an insight into how school children in year six, in Sweden, value and view grades. In Sweden, currently there are many debates on whether schools should have grading systems and if so, in which school year they should be introduced. In the present study seven children (3 boys and 4 girls), attending year six, were divided into two focus groups; that were simultaneously conducted. In the focus groups, the children discussed their views, values and their experiences in regard to grades. The results discerned from the two focus groups were that the seven participating school children felt that there was value and merit in receiving grades because they gained a better understanding of their own academic performance based on the grades they received. Additionally, however, the children acknowledged that they also do experience negative emotional effects from receiving grades, such as stress and the de-evaluation of their capabilities in comparison to their schoolmates. Nevertheless, the participating children perceived that grades were necessary and believed that the grading system should begin to be enforced in either year four, or year five, for the most optimal effect.

AbstractIn the following text we analyse different perspectives in a meeting between a theatreand a visiting school class from grade six in the Swedish Primary School, in order toinvestigate the conditions for children’s participation and for making children’s ownvoices heard in professional theatres. Though it is common for Swedish theatre artists totry to understand and interpret children’s perspectives, it is rare for children to be giventhe opportunity to show their own perspectives in professional theatres in Sweden(Davet 2011 p. 18). The authors of this text have their theoretical base in a socioculturalperspective that gives that learning and creation of meaning and purpose takes place in asocial and cultural context (Vygotskij 1978). In the analysis of our material we havefound Feiwel Kupferberg’s (2009) theory on different creative regimens and Robert A.Harts (1992) descriptions of children’s participation useful. This is a casestudy and our primary method is qualitative interviews. Our informants are four pupils,one teacher, one theatre pedagogue and two theatre artists. The result shows that theartistic creative regimen and the pedagogical creative regimen are different and this hasan impact on how our informants approach the meeting between school and theatre, aswell as on how they think about making children’s voices heard in theatres. Formal andinformal demands and expectations present obstacles to working with children’sparticipation in a co-operation between school and theatre. The social reception after thetheatre performance has been an important part of the participating pupils’ experience.The pupils show enthusiasm about the thought of expressing themselves through theatretogether with teachers and theatre artists. We come to the conclusion that there is a needfor a change in professional roles among all the adult participants in this meeting if theywant to make children’s participation a reality. For this to happen they need to take itupon themselves to use their different professional skills to make children’s ownprojects come to life.Key words: children’s participation, children’s voices, creative regimen, democracy,radical aesthetics, theatre.

The thesis focuses on the way the secondary students of an international British curriculum school in Spain portray gender equality. It analyses the themes emerging from a focus group discussion with a close consideration of the concepts of gender, gender equality, and gender mainstreaming. A crucial element underpinning the research is the concept of children’s voices, as the study aims at creating space for those voices to be expressed and heard. This paper addresses various notions constituting inextricable parts of the identified themes: the notions of fairness, responsibility, control, and heteronormativity. I argue that this kind of research is a necessity due to insufficient consideration of children’s voices in policy-making processes in education. I denounce the paucity of adults’ knowledge of school children’s needs and opinions. This paper aims at understanding how students define gender equality, how they associate it with the notions of responsibility, control and fairness, and how my assumptions, as an adult and as a teacher, differ from the perception of secondary students in question.

Syftet med denna avhandling är att utforska barns perspektiv på respons i samband med att de upplever våld i nära relation. Särskild betoning ligger på barnens egna, deras syskons, mor- och farföräldrars och andra vuxnas handlingar och reaktioner. På så sätt är målet att undersöka det relationella sammanhangets betydelse för våldsutsatta barn. Avhandlingens teoretiska ansats utgörs av barndomssociologi, sociologin om detpersonliga livet och positioneringsteori. Avhandlingen består av fyra delarbeten. Artikel I analyserar hur barns röst används i kvalitativ forskning om barn som upplever våld. De följande empiriska artiklarna, som bygger på analyser av kvalitativa intervjuer med 20 barn (11–19 år), undersöker barns erfarenhet av respons i samband med våld. Barnens berättelser visar att det ofta finns personer som känner till våldet och undersöker hur barnen själva, deras syskon (artikel II), mor- och farföräldrar (artikelIV) samt andra vuxna (artikel III) positionernas i barnens berättelser. Resultaten visar att barn upplever och responderar på våld på en rad olika sätt. Även personer i det relationella sammanhanget reagerar olika gentemot det utsatta barnet, vilket kan förstås utifrån att relationer omges av olika förväntningar och att respons är ett interaktionellt fenomen – individer i barnens närhet anpassar sin respons efter hur barnen responderar.Omgivningens respons beskrivs av barnen som hjälpsamma eller ohjälpsamma beroende på hur lyhörd, tillgänglig och nära individen upplevs. Avhandlingen visar vidare på att barnen har ett begränsat handlingsutrymme och endast ett fåtal positioner finns tillgängliga när de upplever våld. De primära positioner de våldsutsatta barnen erbjuds är de som ”sårbart offer”, ”sårbar men kompetent aktör” samt ”vuxenlik och omsorgsgivande aktör”. En nyckelfaktor för att barnen ska få hjälpsam respons är att de positioneras som både sårbara offer och som kompetenta aktörer. / The aim with this thesis is to explore children’s perspectives on responses when experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). Special focus is on the children’s own responses, as well as the actions and reactions of their siblings, grandparents and other adults in their proximity. Through this, the objective is to explore the significance of the relational setting for children exposed to IPV. This thesis is inspired by the sociology of childhood and the sociology of personal life. It has also employed positioning theory. The thesis consists of four papers. In article I, the use of children’s voices in qualitative research with children exposed to IPV is discussed. The following empirical papers, who are based on analyses of interviews with 20 children (11–19 years of age), explore children’s experiences of responses when exposed to violence. The children’s stories suggest that there often are people who know about the violence and the articles analyse how children position themselves in their stories, but also how they are positioned by their siblings (article II), their grandparents (article IV) and other adults (article III). Children exposed to IPV may experience the violence differently and respond to the abuse in a variety of ways. Similarly, individuals in the children’s relational setting may respond to the abused children differently, which can be understood on the basis that relationships are surrounded by different expectations and that responses are interactional phenomenon – individuals close to the children partly adapt their response to how the children react to the abuse. Children describe responses from individuals in their relational setting as either helpful or unhelpful, depending on how responsive, accessible and intimate the individual is perceived. The thesis also suggests that the children have a limited room for maneuverer and only a few positions available for them in the aftermath of violence. The primary attainable positions to the children experiencing IPV are the ones as ‘vulnerable victim’, ‘vulnerable but competent actor’, and ‘adult-like and caregiving actor’. A key factor for children to receive helpful responses is being positioned as vulnerable victims and as competent actors simultaneously.