Bronagh Byrne

Working With Young Children as Co-Researchers: An Approach Informed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

Research Findings: Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), children have the right to express their views on all matters affecting them and to have those views given due weight. This right applies in the context of research; however, examples of young children being engaged as co-researchers remain rare. Practice or Policy: This article examines the implications of adopting an explicit UNCRC-informed approach to engaging children as co-researchers. It draws on a research project that sought to ascertain young childrens views on after-school programs and that involved a university-based research team working along with 2 groups of co-researchers; each composed of 4 children aged 4 to 5. The article discusses the contribution made by children to the development of the research questions and choice of methods and their involvement in the interpretation of the data and dissemination of the findings. It suggests that, although there are limits to what young children can and will want to do in the context of adult-led research studies, an explicit UNCRC-informed approach requires the adoption of supportive strategies that can assist children to engage in a meaningful way, with consequent benefits for the research findings and outputs.

Incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Law: A Comparative Review

Incorporation in law is recognised as key to the implementation of the UNCRC. This article considers the ways in which a variety of countries have chosen to incorporate the CRC, drawing on a study conducted by the authors for UNICEF-UK. It categorises the different approaches adopted into examples of direct incorporation (where the CRC forms part of domestic law) and indirect incorporation (where there are legal obligations which encourage its incorporation); and full incorporation (where the CRC has been wholly incorporated in law) and partial incorporation (where elements of the CRC have been incorporated). Drawing on evidence and interviews conducted during field visits in six of the countries studied, it concludes that children’s rights are better protected – at least in law if not also in practice – in countries that have given legal status to the CRC in a systematic way and have followed this up by establishing the necessary systems to support, monitor and enforce the implementation of CRC rights.

Hidden contradictions and conditionality: conceptualisations of inclusive education in international human rights law

The nature of education that children with disabilities should receive has been subject to much debate. This article critically assesses the ways in which the international human rights framework has conceptualised ‘inclusive education’. It argues that the right to education for children with disabilities in international law is constitutive of hidden contradictions and conditionality. This is most evident with respect to conceptualisations of ‘inclusion’ and ‘support’, and their respective emphases upon the extent of individual impairment or ‘deficit’ rather than upon the extent of institutional or structural deficit. It is vital that the new Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities pays close attention to the utilisation of these concepts lest the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities further legitimises the ‘special needs’ educational discourse to which children with disabilities have been subject.

Getting In and Getting On? The Experiences of Young People with Visual Impairments and Hearing Impairments in Third-level Education

Young disabled people continue to be under-represented throughout further and higher education settings. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s social theory of habitus, capital and field, this paper explores the practices of domination and oppression that have made it difficult for young people with visual impairments and hearing impairments to participate in third-level education on the same basis as non-disabled people. Twenty young people with hearing impairments and visual impairments were interviewed about their educational experiences. In addition, 31 interviews were conducted with third-level education providers, policy-makers and non-governmental organisations. This article has two aims: firstly, to critically examine the experiences of young people with hearing impairments and visual impairments in accessing and engaging with support provisions in further and higher education settings; and secondly, to identify and explore the diversity of ways in which these young people have managed and responded to the practices they have encountered. This article emphasises the journey from ability to dis-ability that young people with hearing and visual impairments experience in their quest for educational achievement. The ambiguities of “inclusion”, “widening participation” and “support” are highlighted and critiqued for their extensive failure to challenge taken-for-granted discourses.

Respecting and fulfilling the right of post-primary pupils to consent to participate in trials and evaluative research: a discussion paper

ABSTRACT This paper provides an introduction to issues surrounding the participation rights of young people in research and the implications of their growing involvement in research as well as providing a discourse on the ethical implications related to consent. The unique contribution of this paper is that it considers children’s rights in respect to the increasing opportunities for young people to take part in evaluation research. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to acknowledge the growing involvement for young people in research and the implications of ensuring that their rights of participation are respected. Secondly, we will consider the children’s rights legislation and our obligations as researchers to implement this. Finally, we will explore consent as an issue in its own right as well as the practicalities of accessing participants. This paper will postulate that any research about young people should involve and prioritize at all stages of the research process; including participation in decision-making. We conclude by identifying five key principles, which we believe can help to facilitate the fulfilment of post-primary pupils’ ability to consent to participate in trials and evaluative research.

Deaf people and economic well-being: findings from the Life Opportunities Survey

Abstract The present study used propensity score analysis to compare the economic well-being of people with and without hearing impairment in the UK. Using nationally representative 2009/10 Life Opportunities Survey, our study found that economic well-being was significantly worse for people with hearing impairment than people without hearing impairment. Hearing impaired people (1) had lower household income, (2) experienced greater difficulties making ends meets, (3) were unable to pay for unexpected but necessary expenses of ₤500, and (4) were less likely to work in paid jobs even after accounting for other demographic characteristics. The findings underscore the barriers and discrimination against people with hearing impairment in the UK. Policy measures to increase access and engagement of hearing impaired people should be considered, including increasing investment in better employment opportunities, sign interpretation, and disability benefits.

Do Children still need to Escape Childhood? A Reassessment of John Holt and his Vision for Children's Rights

The work of children’s liberationists have been long been critiqued for pushing the parameters of rights discourse too far; specifically, by suggesting that there are no significant differences between children and adults, including their ability for self-determination. John Holt’s 1974 text, Escape from Childhood, is one such work which was deemed highly controversial for its time. This article uses Holt’s Escape from Childhood as an overarching framework against which to examine the current state of play on children’s rights as explicated through the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It suggests that whilst Holt has often been critiqued for being too radical, in the context of current children’s rights discourse, Holt’s visioning is not as radical as it might first appear.

Special Issue: Valuing Disabled Children: Participation and Inclusion

We are pleased to present our second special edition of the Child Care in Practice journal focused on childhood disability issues. Our first special edition was published in January 2015 and focused on childhood disability in the context of families, communities and service provision. This follow-on edition reflects the growing focus on discourses of participation, inclusion and social justice as they are increasingly being applied to the experiences of disabled children and young people. These key themes underpin the range of papers in this issue and are presented in the context of transitions, early childhood, the arts and research methodologies. The right of disabled children and young people to express their views freely on all matters affecting them, and for their views to be given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity, is a core component of international human rights discourse. Both the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006 make it clear that State Parties have obligations to ensure that disabled children and young people are supported in exercising this right. Disabled children and young people have traditionally been perceived as a justifiable exception to participative processes for three main reasons: a belief that they have no views to express; an assumption that their interests and experiences will always be best articulated by adult caretakers; and a concern that any attempts to facilitate their views will be too expensive or too difficult (Byrne, 2012, p. 430). This perception is reaffirmed by the observation that whilst children’s participation in decisions is a key policy priority, disabled children are less likely to be involved in decision-making processes than non-disabled children (Franklin & Sloper, 2007). These perspectives have been increasingly challenged by researchers in the field of disability studies who argue that the participation of disabled children and young people in decision-making processes is core to facilitating inclusion, social justice and a meaningful understanding of their lived experiences (Curran & Runswick-Cole, 2013; Kelly, 2013; Rabiee, Sloper, & Beresford, 2005).

Valuing Disabled Children and Young People

We are delighted to present this special issue of the Child Care in Practice journal which focuses for the first time on childhood disability issues. We had such a positive response to the call for papers that we have been able to produce two special issues, the second one to be published later in 2015 with a focus on disabled children’s participation. This first special issue focuses on childhood disability in the context of families, communities and service provision. It includes papers presenting a range of perspectives on the themes of inclusion, education, transition and identity, including reflections on participatory research and practice. In recent decades, there have been significant developments in research, policy and practice relevant to the lives of disabled children and young people. At an international level, disabled children and young people have been explicitly recognised as rights holders under both the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). These international instruments highlight the intersections between childhood and disability and affirm the rights of disabled children to protection, participation and provision of relevant services and supports. These treaties have been ratified by most countries across the world; however there are some concerns about the extent and effectiveness of their implementation at national levels (Byrne, 2012). For example, it is evident that disabled children and young people continue to experience exclusion and disadvantage including higher levels of childhood poverty, lower educational attainment, limited engagement in employment, and poorer health outcomes (see for example Emerson & Hatton, 2007; Burchardt, 2005; Sylvester, Donnell, Gray, Higgins, & Stalker, 2014; Ruebain & Haines, 2011). In addition, the first two papers in this special issue demonstrate the impact of current economic austerity and conflict on the extent to which these rights are being realised. At national and local levels across the UK, efforts have been made to include consideration of disabled children and young people in new policy and legislative developments such as, Fulfilling Potential: making it happen for disabled people (2013); the Children and Families Act (2014) in Great Britain, and the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership in Northern Ireland (see also Read, Blackburn,

Children’s rights in practice

ing on understanding the nature-nurture dichotomy. In a detailed explanation, Saxton shows how the underlying theoretical assumptions of innate knowledge are not supported empirically. While chapter one poses the question: What is language, chapter nine extends the question to what language is for, thus introducing the “most prominent and most comprehensive non-nativist account of syntax” (212) namely usage-based theory. Language learning is considered an act of communication and is goal-directed. Here, too, the theory is presented with its strengths and inconsistencies. Chapter 10 reviews the facts and ideas presented in the preceding nine chapters, placing child language within the nature-nurture dichotomy framework. At the same time, the author breaks down the barriers created by the different approaches and the terms “acquisition” and “development” used in the title to “help describe both nature and nurture at work in the child” (252). There are also an extensive reference section, glossary, exercises, discussion points and relevant websites. This book presents a clear, erudite, state-of-the art account of the complexities of child language. I highly recommend it to undergraduate, graduate students and researchers alike. It provides a clear, well-written and up to date account of child language. This is a valuable addition to all those interested in understanding the complexities of language development. Furthermore, those who would like to understand language disabilities are urged to read it as it synthesizes current knowledge of typical development.