RT Article
T1 Children’s Participation: Questioning Competence and Competencies?
JF Social Inclusion
VO 5
IS 3
SP 122
OP 130
A1 Le Borgne, Carine
A1 Tisdall, E. Kay M. 1968-
A2 Tisdall, E. Kay M. 1968-
LA English
YR 2017
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1787933474
AB While Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child has encouraged children’s participation in collective decision-making, the literature is replete with the challenges as well as successes of such participation. One challenge is adults’ perceptions of children’s competence and competencies. These are frequently used as threshold criteria, so that children viewed as incompetent or lacking competencies are not allowed or supported to participate. Despite this casual elision between children’s participation and their (perceived) competence and competencies, the latter are rarely explicitly defined, theorised or evidenced. This article draws on research undertaken in Tamil Nadu (South India) and Scotland (UK), with two non-governmental organisations supporting children’s participation in their communities. The article examines how staff members can validate and enhance children’s competence and competencies, by scaffolding children to influence decision-making and recognising and adding to children’s knowledge. These empirical findings suggest the need for increased scrutiny of the concepts of competence and competencies, recognising their disempowering potential. The findings argue that competence is situationally and socially constructed rather than a set and individual characteristic.
K1 Adults
K1 Children
K1 Community
K1 Competence
K1 Competencies
K1 Family
K1 Participation
K1 School
K1 social competence
DO 10.17645/si.v5i3.986