Page 57 - Šolsko polje, XXXI, 2020, 3-4: Convention on the Rights of the Child: Educational Opportunities and Social Justice, eds. Zdenko Kodelja and Urška Štremfel
P. 57
j. vranješevič ■ convention on the rights of the child and adultism ...
and child labour, the participation of those children was very important
for understanding their views and in planning actions in their best inter-
est (Vudhed, 2004; Young and Barrett, 2001; Theis, 1998). In one research
study from Serbia, the consulting process with migrant children led to
a more comprehensive understanding of their position and the problems
they were coping with during the migration process, contributing thus
to clearer definitions of the directions in which the advancement of the
policies and programmes should take (Avramović, 2014). There are nu-
merous examples of projects/studies in which children were consulted
about the ways their rights were respected (Hill, 2006; Lansdown, 2000;
O’Kane, 2008; Pešić et al., 1999; Stevanović, 2012), which resulted in the
advancement of policies for child protection and realisation of their rights
which, in their opinion, were neglected. For example, in one study with-
in the EURONET (European Children’s Rights Network), the aim was
to explore the experience of discrimination: whether children consider
themselves as discriminated just because they are children, how such dis-
crimination is accomplished, and with what effects. Children were con-
sulted about the ways they would like to take part in the process of de-
cision-making, not only on the local but the national and international
level too. They had a chance to actively participate in formulating recom-
mendations for the advancement of children’s rights and their participa-
tion in the decision-making process (Lansdown, 2000). There are exam-
ples of initiatives which sought to create a safe and supporting context for
the development and learning at schools, where the participation of stu-
dents seriously advanced the quality of the research process and the re-
search outcomes in the sense the decisions made advanced the protection
and safety of children at schools. For instance, in one school in England,
the 7-year-olds suggested research about peer violence and articulated the
questions posed to their peers. Instead of focusing on the roles of perpe-
trator and victim (who does/suffers the violence), they concentrated on
unsafe sites and asked their peers where the peer violence happens. As a
result, the school intensified surveillance of the sites marked by the stu-
dents as critical, thereby making these places safer (Rowe, 1999). This and
other copious examples unequivocally show the potential children par-
ticipation holds for the realisation of both participative and protective/
provision rights, and to erase the boundary (in adults’ heads mostly im-
penetrable) between children’s protection and their participation in the
realisation of their rights.
55
and child labour, the participation of those children was very important
for understanding their views and in planning actions in their best inter-
est (Vudhed, 2004; Young and Barrett, 2001; Theis, 1998). In one research
study from Serbia, the consulting process with migrant children led to
a more comprehensive understanding of their position and the problems
they were coping with during the migration process, contributing thus
to clearer definitions of the directions in which the advancement of the
policies and programmes should take (Avramović, 2014). There are nu-
merous examples of projects/studies in which children were consulted
about the ways their rights were respected (Hill, 2006; Lansdown, 2000;
O’Kane, 2008; Pešić et al., 1999; Stevanović, 2012), which resulted in the
advancement of policies for child protection and realisation of their rights
which, in their opinion, were neglected. For example, in one study with-
in the EURONET (European Children’s Rights Network), the aim was
to explore the experience of discrimination: whether children consider
themselves as discriminated just because they are children, how such dis-
crimination is accomplished, and with what effects. Children were con-
sulted about the ways they would like to take part in the process of de-
cision-making, not only on the local but the national and international
level too. They had a chance to actively participate in formulating recom-
mendations for the advancement of children’s rights and their participa-
tion in the decision-making process (Lansdown, 2000). There are exam-
ples of initiatives which sought to create a safe and supporting context for
the development and learning at schools, where the participation of stu-
dents seriously advanced the quality of the research process and the re-
search outcomes in the sense the decisions made advanced the protection
and safety of children at schools. For instance, in one school in England,
the 7-year-olds suggested research about peer violence and articulated the
questions posed to their peers. Instead of focusing on the roles of perpe-
trator and victim (who does/suffers the violence), they concentrated on
unsafe sites and asked their peers where the peer violence happens. As a
result, the school intensified surveillance of the sites marked by the stu-
dents as critical, thereby making these places safer (Rowe, 1999). This and
other copious examples unequivocally show the potential children par-
ticipation holds for the realisation of both participative and protective/
provision rights, and to erase the boundary (in adults’ heads mostly im-
penetrable) between children’s protection and their participation in the
realisation of their rights.
55
