GSC-18-0025_Special Issue 2019-3_Moran-Ellis and Tisdall final version.pdf (170.94 kB)
The relevance of ‘competence’ for enhancing or limiting children’s participation: unpicking conceptual confusion
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 16:07 authored by Jo Moran-EllisJo Moran-Ellis, E Kay M TisdallRecent debates about children’s participation rights, formulated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, primarily focus on ‘effectiveness’ of implementation. However, children’s participation remains problematic, its limited impact on adult power in decision-making or on the nature of decisions made persists, and reservations about children’s competence as participants are implicated in both. In respect of this, we analysed conceptualisations of competence in 67 articles, published between 2007 and 2017 in six childhood studies’ journals, where ‘competence’ and its variations appear in the abstract. Although competence is rarely defined, conceptualisations were wide-ranging, covering competence as skills, as compliance with adult views, and as a trope signalling the field of childhood studies. As a result of our findings, we argue that epistemological clarity is vital for this concept to be useful regarding children’s participation and that attention must be paid to the different kinds of competence relevant for ‘effective’ participation.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Global Studies of ChildhoodISSN
2043-6106Publisher
SAGE PublicationsExternal DOI
Issue
3Volume
9Page range
212-223Department affiliated with
- Sociology and Criminology Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2019-06-06First Open Access (FOA) Date
2019-06-06First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2019-06-05Usage metrics
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