In Defiance of Childhood? an Exploration of Children's Activism

In Defiance of Childhood? An Exploration of Children's Activism Written by: Patricia N. Desjardins MA Candidate Department of Sociology Carleton University Supervised by: Aaron Doyle Department of Sociology Carleton University © Patricia N. Desjardins 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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Abstract: This thesis explores child activism and the barriers to it in contemporary Canadian society. Empirically the thesis is based on a textual analysis o f news media accounts concerning two child activists and on interviews with 10 children who are committed to creating social change. Through these means it was found that, despite the growing recognition o f children’s capabilities and competencies, notions o f children as vulnerable and incompetent beings remain a powerful force in our society. These particular ideas about childhood disempower children in their day-to-day lives as their need for protection is emphasized over other rights, and children are accordingly excludedfrom important decision-making practices. The process of gaining access to children for the purpose o f research is itself a revealing source o f data in this regard as the same conditions that restrict children’s autonomy in society more generally also limit their ability to learn about and participate in research studies. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements: To my supervisor, Aaron Doyle: The unwavering support and encouragement that you provide to each of your students is truly inspirational and I am immensely grateful to have worked with you during the past few years. I could not have asked for a better guide through this journey. To my interviewees and their families: thank you so much for taking time out of your hectic schedules to speak with me. I have learned so much from each of you! I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavours, though I know you do not need it. I am confident that your brilliant ideas, hard work and determination are creating a better world for us all, one day at a time. 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Introduction 1 From Rhetoric to Reality: Ensuring Children’s Rights as Outlined in the CRC 2 Setting the Stage: Identifying Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks 5 Theoretical Foundations: Constructivist-Structuralism 6 What Constitutes Childhood? Who are Children? 9 Defining Activism 11 Ambiguity and Anxiety: Constructing the Powerless Child 12 Rights vs. Protections 13 Trouble vs. In Trouble (The Risk vs. At Risk) 18 Private vs. Public 27 Children’s Competency, Power, Agency and the Demise of Childhood? Two Recent Trends 34 Children as Social Actors 34 The Disappearance o f Childhood 46 Research Questions and Methodological Approach: The Use of Textual Analysis and Interviews 52 Exploring Cultural Constructions of Child Activists: A Textual Analysis of Media Reports 55 General Findings o f the Textual Analysis 59 Exploring the Trends: Media s Role in Reproducing Dominant Cultural Constructions 63 Listening to Children: The Perspectives of Child Activists Regarding Childhood, Activism and Cross-Generational Relationships 66 Description o f the Sample 61 Overview of Research Findings 69 Influence or Coercion? The Role o f Parents and Other Adults in Children’s Activism 70 ‘Age Sucks! ’ Exploring the Similarities and Differences Between Children’s Activism and that of Adults 81 Children’s Power: Recognizing Challenges, Limitations and Abilities 91 Balancing Responsibility, Empathy and Play: What it Means to be a Child 98 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents (Continued) Power and Ethics: A Discussion of Research Procedures and Their Implications for Children’s Autonomy 102 The Role o f Gatekeepers: Controlling the Research Agenda 104 Who Has the Power? Exploring the Research Relationship 113 Is There Needfor Special Ethical Guidelines for Children? 129 Conclusion 133 Appendix A ~ Original Consent Form 142 Appendix B ~ School Consent Form 146 Appendix C ~ Other Consent Form 151 Appendix D ~ Recruiting Methods 157 Appendix E ~ Recruitment Flyer 166 Appendix F ~ Interviewee Profiles 167 Appendix G ~ Interview Guide 174 Appendix H ~ Child Activism Web Page 175 Works Cited 183 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Introduction This thesis examines children’s activism. Children’s engagement with social and political issues in the public sphere has rarely caught the attention of academics, although numerous examples can be found in contemporary society and throughout history. In some areas of the globe there is a fairly long history of children’s working groups that are created by children themselves and are aimed at bettering the conditions of children’s employment. Another example of children’s activism took place in 1976 when large numbers of African children participated in protests against the reigning apartheid regime. More recently, school children in the United Kingdom joined demonstrations that opposed the war in Iraq. Such activism is generally incongruous with our cultural ideals about what it means to be a child and thus challenges people’s preconceptions about children and their capabilities. Children’s political actions may simply be regarded as the outcome of adult manipulation. In other cases, their activist efforts are interpreted as ‘bad behaviour’ and children have accordingly been shamed and punished. In this study, I will first review relevant academic literature. While this body of work provides a fairly thorough account of social constructions of childhood, there is little information directly pertaining to child activists and thus I am left with several questions. Firstly, what are common cultural understandings of child activists are and how do these relate to more general ideas about childhood? To explore this issue, I will examine media accounts of two Canadian child activists. My second set of questions relate more broadly to the experiences of child activists and how society responds to them - how did these children become activists, and what resistances have they faced (if any)? I also want to leam how child activists define childhood and how this compares 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 with conventional, adult conceptions. To investigate these issues,I will analyze interviews that I have conducted with 10 child activists. Through these meansI will address an important gap in the sociological literature related to childhood. Furthermore, by investigating whether children are able to effectively exercise their rights as set out in the Convention on the Rights o f the Childthis research will also contribute to ongoing political discussion of this important issue. From Rhetoric to Reality: Ensuring Children’s Rights as Outlined in the CRC The United NationsConvention on the Rights o f the Child(CRC) is the most “universally accepted human rights instrument in history”, having been ratified by every nation in the world with only two exceptions, the United States and Somalia (CEE/CIS “Convention”). Drafted in the late 1980s, theConvention aimed to create a fixed standard of human rights for children, who were classified as

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