scholarly journals Spatially Democratic Pedagogy: Children’s Design and Co-Creation of Classroom Space

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Clement
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Pedagogical Change ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Democratic Pedagogy ◽  
Classroom Space ◽  
Children’S Participation ◽  
Children's Participation ◽  
Problem Solvers

Abstract Young children’s participation has been specifically foregrounded as a pedagogical element within education policy in Wales. However, there is currently little evidence that this policy concerned with participation has been enacted. This research describes an intervention, Spatially Democratic Pedagogy, as a pedagogical approach to foster young children’s participation, through design and co-creation of their classroom space. A group of six children, aged 4–5 years, alongside their teacher, were supported through a design-based intervention to enact, document and analyse this process. The research draws upon social understandings of space, as well as Froebel’s ideas about construction of communal gardens. Findings illustrate notable differences in the roles and relationships that formed between the teacher and the children when using Spatially Democratic Pedagogy. Children were teachers, planners, architects, negotiators and problem-solvers, as they participated in co-construction of their space. The argument is made that it is the process of design and co-creation that becomes the mediator for pedagogical change and acts as the driver for children’s participation. The co-construction of space is an important element to support young children’s participation in early years classrooms.

scholarly journals Nature kindergartens: a space for children’s participation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilde Alme ◽  
Monika Alvestad Reime
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Pivotal Phase ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Children’S Participation ◽  
Children's Participation ◽  
The Uk

AbstractChildren’s right to participate has become internationally recognised and the early years are a pivotal phase for realising children’s rights. Knowledge of how young children can enact their right to participation in different environmental and educational contexts is important for improving and facilitating pedagogical practices around the world. The use of the natural environment for educational purposes has become increasingly popular in the Nordic countries, the UK, Australia and in the United States. In this article, we explore how children and staff experience children’s participation through play and everyday life in kindergartens that organise most of the days outside. In Norway they are referred to as nature kindergartens. The primary data sources are focus group interviews with 30 children and 20 staff members from six nature kindergartens in Norway. The results show that the open and fluid character of nature creates a dynamic space for children’s play, stimulates creativity and social inclusion, promotes responsibility, and facilitates generational interdependency. Staff promote and participate in children’s initiatives but refrain from introducing and controlling activities. We conclude that the environmental and educational contexts in nature-kindergartens offer a range of participative situations while questioning whether all children have the capabilities for required active engagement.

Taking Part, Joining in, and Being Heard?

2020 ◽  
pp. 475-494
Author(s):  
Perpetua Kirby ◽  
Rebecca Webb
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
School Life ◽  
Children’S Participation ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Children's Participation ◽  
The Voice

This chapter explores how Article 12 and the voice of the child are implemented. The chapter does so by making specific reference to ways in which children express themselves within two different English primary schools. The chapter introduces Article 12 as a commitment to giving due attention to children’s experiences. Using data vignettes, the chapter illustrates the value of paying attention to children by focusing on the micro moments of everyday school life. The chapter argues that children’s participation is necessarily political, suggesting that participation must be read as such and demonstrating how it is often subsumed within powerful dominant schooling discourses of conformity within different governmental climates that are regarded as beyond politics. The chapter identifies limited possibilities for transformation in the study’s research sites, discussed in terms of children achieving agency and enacting their own subjectivities. This is apparent even within the less coercive ethos of a school participating in the Rights Respecting Schools Initiative (UNICEF). The chapter argues that in order to open up possible transformational participatory spaces, adults in schools need to require opportunities to reflect together on the tensions within their own educational contexts and between supporting children’s participation and their conformity to wider schooling discourses. The chapter suggests that the provision of such opportunities will help to keep a focus on listening to children in line with the ambitions of Article 12.

Children’s Participation in Decision Making From Child Welfare Workers’ Perspectives: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973152098484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karmen Toros
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Child Welfare Workers ◽  
Children’S Participation ◽  
Participation In Decision Making ◽  
Children's Participation ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Welfare Workers

This article explores child welfare workers’ experiences of children’s participation in decision making in the child protection system. The systematic review follows the principles of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement and includes 12 peer-reviewed articles published in academic journals from 2009 to 2019. Findings indicate that children’s participation in decision making is generally limited or nonexistent. The age of the child is an important determining factor concerning whether the child is given the opportunity to participate in decision making. Potential harm for children that may result from participation is considered when deciding on whether to include a child in the decision-making process.

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