Children's Participation: The Theory and Practice of Involving Young Citizens in Community Development and Environmental Care

THIS BOOK ADDRESSES the conceptual issues, processes and methods for involving children and early adolescents in research, planning, design, management and monitoring of the environment. Illustrated with case studies from around the world, it is designed to be of use to both governmental and non-governmental organizations concerned with sustainable development and children’s participation.

The book is divided into three parts. Part I is concerned with conceptual issues. The first chapter serves as an introduction and Chapter 2 discusses the growing capacity of children to participate, addressing issues such as social cooperation, relations with peers and adults, and children with special needs. Chapter 3 is designed to help adults work effectively with children and Chapter 4 suggests new institutional alliances for the promotion of children’s participation, such as community schools and local government environmental agencies.

Part II focuses on the practical issues concerning children’s participation. Chapter 5 introduces action-research, revealing how to conduct and interpret it. The following chapter looks at how children can transform the environment through planning, design and construction. Chapter 7 addresses the topic of environmental management, setting out various management tasks in schools, households and communities in which children’s everyday involvement can be encouraged. Environmental monitoring through surveys is then discussed and Chapter 9 shows how environmental action can enhance both the public and political awareness of children through their participation in campaigns, conferences and hearings. Finally, Chapter 10 discusses the limitations of large-scale international programmes and ways of engaging children in locally defined research and action.

The final part of the book describes the methods for encouraging children’s participation. The value of drawings and collages for engaging young children is explored in Chapter 11, whilst Chapter 12 discusses mapping and modelling. Interviews and surveys are another topic of discussion ranging from personal environmental inventories to surveys of animal and human behaviour. Chapter 14 shows the value of media and communication such as newspapers, radio, TV and drama as vehicles for involving children. The final chapter discusses the book’s conclusions and argues the importance for sustainable development in the coming century of involving both children and communities.