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An exploration of the barriers and enablers of children’s lived participation within the primary school context
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Date
2021-04-02
Authors
O'Sullivan, Jane
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University College Cork
Published Version
Abstract
Since the adoption in 1989 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child (UNCRC) children’s right to participate has gained widespread recognition,
with children’s participation growing significantly within policy, practice and
research arenas. The dominant focus and growth, however, has been in relation to
the collective/representative voice of children within formal participatory
mechanisms and structures. Considered to a lesser extent, but equally important,
is children’s right to participate informally within their everyday lives. A lack of
focus on children’s informal everyday lived participation within the school
context, a key site in relation to most children’s everyday lives, has resulted in a
gap in knowledge with regard to what such participation looks like, how it can be
assessed or measured, and thus, how its facilitation can be assured in accordance
with the UNCRC. This research addresses this gap by generating knowledge which
contributes to our ability to ensure that each and every child’s right to participate
within their everyday school lives is respected, developed and facilitated.
This thesis identifies and engages in an exposition of the factors that both
influence, and act as, barriers and enablers to children’s lived participation within
a school context, in addition to the spatial/relational process(es) by which such
barriers and enablers are (re)constructed. Using a rights-based participatory
methodology, comprising interviews, focus groups and observations, data was
gathered and analysed from five Irish primary schools. Employing a
spatially/relationally orientated theoretical framework that forefronts the concepts
of power and educational paradigms, the perspectives of educators and children
were analysed, both in and of themselves, and in relation to the interactions and
practices observed within each school. The findings reveal that within each school
a particular educational paradigm prevailed, which was both shaped by, while also
shaping, student/educator power-dynamics. This research exposes the significant
role a school’s educational paradigm and associated power-dynamics play in the
production of particular specifications of people and spaces, and the related
mechanisms, structures and norms that determine the level and quality of
participation afforded to children. Inextricably interconnected beliefs, values and
practices concerning children, education and participation which constitute the
educational paradigm as it relates to children’s lived participation, underpin both
pedagogical practice and student/educator relationships – two key sites of
barriers/enablers of children’s lived participation. Ultimately the findings reveal
that the development of participatory school cultures requires a whole-school
approach to achieving a more egalitarian hierarchical school structure and
educator/student power-dynamics. A paradigmatic shift that encompasses a rights-based
perspective of the child is an integral aspect of such a whole-school
approach.
This research generates original knowledge which furthers a spatial/relational,
rights-based conceptualisation of participation that encompasses, and extends
beyond, current conceptualisations grounded in decision-making events, to
include everyday practices, encounters and relationships. These findings are
significant in that they provide knowledge that can contribute to the progression
of children’s participatory rights within a school context, while also having
important theoretical implications for how children’s participation is
conceptualised.
Description
Keywords
Children , Participation , Rights , School
Citation
O'Sullivan, J. M. 2021. An exploration of the barriers and enablers of children’s lived participation within the primary school context. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.