Children, Youth and Environments 16(2), 2006

Beyond Consultation: Participatory Practices in Everyday Spaces

Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education University of London

Social and Organizational Learning as Action Research (SOLAR) The University of the West of England

Barry Percy-Smith

Citation: Clark, Alison and Barry Percy-Smith (2006). Beyond Consultation: Participatory Practices in Everyday Spaces. Children, Youth and Environments 16(2): 1-9. Retrieved [date] from http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye.

Introduction: Concepts, Contexts and Critiques of Participation

As young peoples participation has become more widespread, it is a good time to take stock of how participation is being understood and enacted. This collection is cross-disciplinary and cross-national, though it draws (unintentionally) heavily from the United Kingdom.1 The main aim of this issue is to go below the surface of current discourses on young peoples participation and draw on diverse examples from research and practice to examine how participation is being understood and enacted in everyday contexts and the implications for young people, adults and the communities of which they are a part. First, we introduce the meaning of the term participation and some larger critiques of how it is interpreted for different purposes by different actors. Simply defined, participation is the act of taking part in or becoming actively involved or sharing in (Collins English Dictionary 1991), but the reality of young childrens participation is more complex. As Kirby and colleagues point out, participation is a multi-layered concept that may involve young peoples active involvement in decision-making at different levels, from the everyday to a specific event (Kirby, Lanyon, Cronin and Sinclair 2003). Participation is also fundamental to the practice of active citizenship. Across Europe, priorities for young people include promoting citizenship education of and participation by young people, and promoting access for young people to decision making. The Revised European Charter on the participation of young people in local and regional life states that:

The call for papers was distributed widely across Europe

Beyond Consultation: Participatory Practices in Everyday Spaces

The active participation of young people in decisions and actions at local and regional levels is essential if we are to build more democratic, inclusive and prosperous societies. Participation in the democratic life of any community is about more than voting or standing for election Participation and active citizenship is about having the right, the means, the space, and the opportunityand where necessary the supportto participate in and influence decisions and engage in actions and activities so as to contribute to building a better society (Council of Europe 2003). There are two major levels of critical analysis concerning young peoples participation at present in the United Kingdom that may also be relevant to other parts of Europe: critiques of the impact and effectiveness of participation activities and processes (for example, Kirby with Bryson 2002; Hill et al. 2004; Tisdall and Davis 2004) and a wider questioning of discourses of participation (Sinclair 2004; Cooke and Kothari 2001; Badham 2004; Cockburn 2005; Percy-Smith 2005; Hart 2006; Thomas 2006). First, looking at young peoples participation in public decision-making, Kirby with Bryson (2002) argue that we need to know more about how participation is impacting services in organizations and the wider community, and young people themselves. In their review of young peoples participation in public decisionmaking, they identify several gaps in the research: the effectiveness of different approaches to participation, which children get involved and issues of underrepresentation, what support is available for young people when they participate in decision making, and the organizational contexts, cultures and structures needed to facilitate participation. When pursuing such questions, we must pay attention to the contexts in which we are expecting different young people to participate, and ask according to whose agenda are they participating? To what extent is participation bringing about benefits in young peoples lives? Many participation initiatives start from adult priorities rather than those of children and young people. It is clear that, given powerful adult agendas at play, having a say is insufficient to achieve effective and meaningful participation for young people. Instead, there is a need to more fully consider the complexity and interplay of values and interests in local decision-making and everyday social processes. These complexities are at the heart of this special issue of CYE as authors discuss the roles of adults when young people participate, the effectiveness of different approaches and methods used to facilitate participation, and how spaces for participation are constructed. Secondly, there are a growing number of commentators who express critical reflections on participation. Cooke and Kothari (2001), for example, warn against instances where the language of listening, participation and empowerment is masking a real concern for managerial effectiveness (2001, 14). Questions have arisen, for example, about participation that is limited to consumer views or service user involvement (Cockburn 2005). The growth in service user involvement has been one of the key drivers across Europe for young peoples participation (Crawford et al. 2003). On the one hand, the rationale for user involvement is that

Beyond Consultation: Participatory Practices in Everyday Spaces

it is an essential part of citizenship and extending choice to the public (Needham 2003). Equally it could be argued that user involvement merely provides an illusion of voice while keeping the agendas and scope for participation firmly within the control of organizations and services. Participation can be turned into another managerial process in order to tick boxes and meet targets according to policy priorities (Cockburn 2005; Middleton this issue). While there are many dimensions to a wider critique of participation, a particular concern in this edition of CYE is with issues of conflict between different values and agendas, particularly between adults and young people. One of the questions we raised in our call for papers asked: How might the diversity of interests and values across the spectrum of adult professionals, young people and community members be mediated when young people participate in local development? Our interest in practical solutions led to a further question: What approaches to participation are effective in working with tensions and conflicts between different agendas? The articles in this special issue approach these questions from theoretical and practical directions. Skivenes and Strandbu, for example, identify different components to participation in terms of structural, interpersonal, and individual dimensions, based on studies involving Norwegian children. Atav and Haider provide an insight into young peoples involvement in the development of public spaces in Turkish cities by carrying out participatory action research with street children. These contrast with Rogers examination of young peoples involvement in the regeneration of public spaces in the North East of England. The diverse spectrum of papers included here offer insights into the breadth and multi-layered nature of what is meant by childrens participation. Waller presents an example of participation as learning and experience in early years settings in England. Participation as service user involvement is examined by Stevens in relation to Scottish children in residential care and by Warming with Danish children in foster care. Participation as a representation of interests in city planning is taken up by Rogers. Percy-Smith examines an understanding of participation as a collaborative process of learning and change through dialogue in communities and policy development. This links to notions of participation as empowerment through social action which Atav and Haider investigate in relation to marginalized street children in Turkey. Participation as a relational process of adult-child interaction and understanding in professional interventions is examined in several articles in this issue, including Skivenes and Strandbu in relation to the experiences of Norwegian children. Participation as research is the explicit focus of Wallers article based on a study of English pre-school children. Participation as political involvement, in children and youth parliaments are is explored in two articles. Middleton offers a rare insight into youth parliaments from the perspective of a youth participant. Warming offers a contrasting example of childrens parliaments for children in foster care. We also emphasized that the debates raised in this issue should stretch across a wide age range of young people. Participatory research methods may, for example, provide a framework for enabling children under five years old as well as older children to explore and communicate their perspectives. Hence, in this issue we

Beyond Consultation: Participatory Practices in Everyday Spaces

have attempted to widen debate by bringing together papers focusing on the entire age range from the earliest years of social relationships through the teenage years. In this issue the environment is interpreted not only as the physical domain but also as the social ecological contexts within which young peoples everyday lives are played out at different spatial levels, including the home, neighborhood, institutions, city and beyond (Bronfenbrenner 1979). The environments described in the papers in this special issue range from the local to the national, e.g.: the localized early years play setting of a country park described by Waller, neighborhoods and city streets outlined by Rogers as well as Atav and Haider, the institutional environments of a care home by Stevens and Warmings study of foster care services. The wider context of city governance and local decision-making is taken up by Rogers and by Percy-Smith together with Middletons perspective on national decision-making and youth parliaments. This broad definition of environment encompasses, therefore, the varied contexts in which young people spend their everyday lives and which shape, and can be shaped, by young peoples views and experiences. This twin emphasis on the environment and the everyday enables participation to be discussed as a relational and experiential concept concerned with lived realities rather than as an instrumental concept of consultation abstracted from everyday life. This rooted understanding of participation in everyday contexts brings to the surface critical issues at the heart of thinking and practice concerning young peoples participation as a relational activity. We conceptualize these critical issues here as tensions, which we see not necessarily as difficulties, but as possible opportunities for learning and development to enhance the understanding and practice of young peoples participation.

Tensions

One way of interpreting the tensions that emerge in young peoples participation is to relate these to differences in how young people are viewed by adults and organizations: what is the explicit or implicit view of the child, how are adult roles and responsibilities interpreted and enacted, and how are organizational agendas balanced with the concerns and priorities of young people within participatory practice? Seeing Young People as Passive or Active Does the context in which we are interacting with children lead us to see them as a vulnerable group in need of protection or as active participants and experts in their own lives (Langsted 1994)? The reality is often more complex and there are difficulties in sustaining such a dichotomy, as Kjrholt et al. warn (2005). However, the question of how adults view children is still valid. Our professional and personal views of young people can influence both our expectations of, and our relationships with, them. Middleton argues that organizations outside of the child sector need to recognize the equal worth of young peoples views, opinions and abilities to take active roles. Skivenes and Strandbu explore what it means to treat the childs perspective with integrity. One of the most challenging areas for developing young peoples participation concerns attitudes toward the voice of the vulnerable child (for example, Timms 1997). Warming and Stevens both look below the surface at groups of children and young people in foster care and in residential homes to

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examine what it means to treat childrens perspective with integrity in these contexts. Atav and Haiders paper also looks at vulnerable young people with a focus on street children in Turkey and the extent to which a participatory action research approach can help empower them as they actively negotiate life on the street in a context where they are viewed negatively by the authorities. In a similar vein, the papers by Rogers and Percy-Smith identify how views and attitudes toward young people affect how their priorities are accounted for in local environmental planning. Sener extends this theme to examine participatory projects with architects and young people. In a contrasting context, Waller explores notions of children as active learners and competent educational decisionmakers as a result of the choices they make through their own experiential learning within natural play settings. Adults Roles and Responsibilities and Young Peoples Freedom to Articulate Their Own Childhoods Tensions can also emerge in relation to adult roles with respect to young people within participatory practice. What happens when the childs right to have a say collides with parent and adult responsibilities to young people? The papers in this issue contribute valuable insights into the relationships between young people and adults. Skivenes and Strandbu reassert the importance of childrens perspectives but argue that there is a critical phase in the participatory process in which adults should clarify their understanding and interpretation of childrens perspectives. Waller also is explicit about the importance of childrens perspectives and explores adult roles in the context of education and research with children, illustrating how the inquiring mind of the researcher can undermine the natural flow of childrens participation in their own learning experience. Percy-Smith argues for the need to build learning and accountability into the participatory process by outlining a collaborative model of participation based on dialogue, learning and mutual reciprocity between young people and adults. Warming draws on Honneths theory of recognition to outline the value of deeper forms of human engagement between adults and young people based on empathy. These papers contribute to widening debates about the importance of adult roles when young people participate. Adult Agendas for Organizations and Child-Directed Goals Does an organization see itself primarily as a deliverer of pre-defined services or as a reflexive learning mechanism for young peoples expressed priorities and interests? Tensions in participation arise as a result of how an organization is viewed or views itself, as well as from the assumptions held about young people and adults. This tension in public decision-making between the culture and structure of policy and public service systems and the lifeworlds of young people is a recurring theme in participation. There is a growing call to direct more attention in young peoples participation away from policy, service and organizational agendas and to focus more on providing spaces for young people as autonomous actors according to their own agendas within the context of their lifeworlds. For example, the Mosaic approach discussed by Waller is a multi-method framework, based on a competent view of children designed to both enable participants to explore their perspectives and to promote dialogue between children and adults. Atav and Haider similarly illustrate how a participatory action research approach

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can help to support children in Turkey to cope better with their marginal lives on the street. At the same time, Rogers explores how autonomous, youth-specific spaces can also constitute an adult policy of displacement within the cultural fabric of the city landscape, in contrast to young peoples desire to use city spaces more freely. One of the key areas for the future is how organizations and systems can mature and develop to better facilitate the participation of young people in ways that are meaningful, inclusive and appropriate and that support learning and change. PercySmiths paper develops a model of social learning as a way of mediating diverse and competing perspectives and supporting democratic participation in communities and local decision-making. Warmings paper reflects on the effectiveness of a childrens parliament as a means of promoting the participation of children in foster care. Stevens outlines the challenges for developing systems to involve children in residential care inspections according to National Care Standards. Middleton draws on experiences of youth participation in the UK and identifies systemic challenges to the development of meaningful young peoples participation. These tensions between adult agendas and child-oriented goals are central to understanding the complexity at play when young people participate with adults. Through the papers in this issue, we draw attention to different models of participation that make explicit the assumptions held about young people, adults and organizations. This greater transparency may enable conflict to be acknowledged or resolved, resulting in the promotion of collaboration within organizations and communities, and the achievement of more genuinely democratic models of participation. Conclusion Discussions about young peoples participation benefit from analyses which place the roles of adults and organizations as well as children and youth under the microscope There is a need to move beyond debates about the justification for young peoples participation and related discussions about participatory methods, to the forms of participation that make a difference in the everyday lives of young people. We believe that while this collection of papers does not fully reflect the broad range of initiatives that are happening throughout Europe, it will help to move the debates in this direction. In particular, we believe that focusing on the everyday or the local increases the possibility that participatory practice can follow agendas initiated by young people rather than imposed by service providers and, thereby, more meaningfully enhance the democratic participation of young people as active citizens.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the authors, reviewers and editors for the time and patience they have given to this issue.

Beyond Consultation: Participatory Practices in Everyday Spaces

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