What Is Youth Participation?
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What is Youth Participation? Barry Checkoway Professor of Social Work and Urban Planning, School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI 48109, United States Tel.: +1 734 763 5960 Fax: +1 734 763 3372. E-mail address: [email protected]. Abstract Youth participation strengthens personal and social development, provides expertise for children and youth programs and services, and promotes a more democratic society, but questions arise about its most fundamental phenomena. Lacking agreement on its basic content, however, youth participation as a field of practice and subject of study will be limited. This paper examines what we know about youth participation, general propositions which are substantiated by research or practice, and unanswered questions or unresolved issues which remain for future work. It draws upon various academic disciplines and professional fields, in order to contribute to knowledge development and advance the field. 1. Introduction What do we know about youth participation? What are some general propositions which are substantia- ted by research or practice? What are some unanswered questions or unresolved issues which remain for future work? Youth participation is important, because when young people participate, it draws upon their expertise, enables them to exercise their rights as citizens, and contributes to a more democratic society. It also promotes their personal development, and provides them with substantive knowledge and practical skills. Youth participation is important, but questions arise about its most fundamental phenomena. What is participation, who are the participants, what do they do, and with what outcomes? When we say that so- meone participates, is it about “community service,” or “social action,” or “civic engagement”? Lacking agreement on its basic content, a field of practice or subject of study will be limited. The question is not whether there is consensus or conflict, but rather whether there is a measure of mutual understanding about what to discuss. The purpose of this paper is to address questions like these by pulling together information from dispa- rate sources, making sense of general propositions, and identifying unanswered questions about youth participation. It represents an exercise in the “scholarship of integration,” an approach which draws upon various academic disciplines and professional fields in order to contribute to knowledge develop- ment and advance the field (Boyer, 1997). 1 / 14 2. General Propositions Following are some general propositions about youth participation which are substantiated by research or practice. They are not the only propositions, but among the important ones. 2.1. Youth participation is a right protected by the Convention on the Rights of the Child The fi rst declaration of rights was adopted by the International Save the Children Union in Geneva in1923, and endorsed by the League of Nations General Assembly in 1924, as the World Child Welfare Charter. The Declaration of the Rights of the Child was proclaimed by the United Nations in 1959, and was the basis for the Convention of the Rights of the Child adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989. Article 12 states that children have the right to participate in decision- making processes relevant to their lives and to infl uence decisions taken in their regard, especially in schools or communities. It affi rms that children are full-fl edged persons who have the right to express their views in all matters aff ecting them and requires that those views be heard and given due weight. It recognizes the potential of children to share perspectives and to participate as citizens and actors of change. This right is related to the right that children should have the necessary information about options that exist and the consequences of such options so that they can make informed and free decisions. Providing information enables children to gain skills, confi dence and maturity in expressing views and infl uencing decisions. In addition, Article 15 states that children have the right to create and join associations and to assem- ble peacefully. Both imply opportunities to express political opinions, engage in political processes and participate in decision-making. Both are critical to the development of a democratic society and to the participation of children in the realization of their rights. 2.2. Youth participation is a process of involving young people in the institutions and decisions that aff ect their lives Participation is a fi eld of practice and subject of study which includes initiatives involving young peop- le according to their race, ethnicity, class, gender, or other social identity; in education, environment, housing, or other issues; and in rural areas, small towns, suburbs, or neighborhoods of cities in nations worldwide. As any approach to social practice, youth participation presumably diff ers from group to group, a proposition whose evidence is growing (Ginwright & Cammarota, 2009; Levine, 2008; Su, 2009; Wray-Lake, Syvertsen & Flanagan, 2008). It includes eff orts by young people to organize around issues of their choice, by adults to involve young people in community agencies, and by youth and adults to join together in intergenerational partners- hips. It varies in its expression from one area to another, but as long as people are involved in the institu- tions and decisions that aff ect them, it is participation (Checkoway, 1995; Rajani, 2001; Rajani, 2000a,b; Sherrod, Torney-Purta & Flanagan, 2010). 2.3. Youth participation refers to the active engagement and real infl uence of young people, not to their passive presence or token roles in adult agencies ©Thai Civic Education (TCE) Foundation The quality of participation is measured not only by its scope, such as the number of people who attend a number of activities, but also by its quality, such as when people have real eff ect on the process, infl uence a particular decision, or produce a favorable outcome. The issue is not necessarily whether the eff ort is youth-led, adult-led, or intergenerational, but rather whether people have some eff ect (Checkoway, 1998). 2 / 14 Defi ned this way, participation is about the power of young people as a group that is usually underre- presented in the political process. It is the strategy by which they are involved in goal setting, resource allocation, and program implementation. It is the means by which they infl uence the opportunities and outcomes of the larger society. This defi nition paraphrases Arnstein (1969), who constructs a ladder of participation in which each rung corresponds to peoples‘ power, and who contrasts empowerment with information, consultation, and other constructions, and also Hart (1992, 1997). Community organization is a vehicle for people seeking to participate. Organizing brings people together and enables them to generate power to accomplish their purpose. It is a process that builds their own sense of power, their perceived or actual power with others, and their ability to aff ect power relation- ships in the community. Adult political organizations learned this lesson years ago (Checkoway, 1997; Delgado & Staples, 2008). 2.4. Youth participation assumes that young people are competent citizens, rather than passive recipients of services This assumption is consistent with the view of “youth as resources,” which contrasts with news media portrayals of youth as “victims of poverty” and “problems in society;” social science studies of youth as “alienated from community” and “withdrawn from participation;” and professionals’ focus on youth defi ciencies and services. When adults view young people as “troubled and troubling,” and youth accept these adult conceptions, this weakens rather than strengthens the roles of young people (Finn, et al., 2009; Finn & Checkoway, 1998; Kurth-Schai, 1988). When adults allocate resources to policies that fo- cus on defi cits rather than assets of young people, it further institutionalizes this view into programs that perpetuate the phenomena that young people have potential to change. Because “youth as resources” challenges the “youth pathology industry” of adult authorities, it is not surprising that adults question such views, that young people accept adults’ conceptions of them as defi cits, and that they do not view themselves as a group that can create change (Finn, 2001). However, young people are experts on being young people, regardless of what others think. ©Thai Civic Education (TCE) Foundation 3 / 14 2.5. Participation has various objectives, outcomes, and assessment criteria Participation studies evaluate the effects of participation on the personal and social development of the participants themselves, such as their knowledge and skills; or their academic achievement or perfor- mance in school; or their sense of direction, self-confidence, social connectedness, and psychosocial well-being; or their critical thinking, public speaking, and civic competencies (Cheadle et al., 2001; Dessel & Rogge, 2009; Flanagan & Levine, 2010; Flanagan, Syvertsen & Stout, 2007; Sherrod & Spie- wak, 2008; Watts & Flanagan, 2007; Sherrod & Lauckhardt, 2008; Youniss, Bales & Christmas-Best, 2002). Studies also evaluate the effects of participation on organizational development, such as their re- lationship to administrative structure and resource allocation; leadership, management, and institutional sustainability; and external collaborations and coalitions with other organizations. (Evans & Prilleltensky,