Alternative Education,Equity and Compromise: Dilemmas for Practice Development

The focus of this article is to provide a child rights analysis of the equity of educational experience afforded to young people outside mainstream schools by alternative providers. The dilemma for policy and existing practice is that alternative education supports children's right to an education as stated in Article 28 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child “when schools find they cannot”. However, in accepting alternatives are we compromising those same children's rights to achieve access to education on the basis of equality of opportunity? This is a right enshrined in the same article. In order to explore this dilemma, the present paper will firstly consider policy and practice concerns with regard to alternative education, drawing on periodic reports from the Committee on the Rights of the Child for the United Kingdom and how these findings relate specifically to the situation in Northern Ireland. The paper will then look at the articles relevant to the issue of exclusion from education within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. From this consideration of legal standards applicable to the issue of exclusion, the paper will focus on the complexities of the issue within the context of current debates on marginalized young people and education.     

Children: Rights, education and equal opportunity

The point of departure in this paper is the concept of RIGHTS. Whereas most countries accept that children have rights as is evidenced in the UNO Declaration of Rights of the Child (1959), such rights are statements, not laws. Statements advocating benefits, care, love, education etc. are goals or beliefs. Few countries have legalised rights; consequently, children may be at risk. In countries where there is discrimination of some degree in respect of race, colour, sex, religion, national or social origin, financial standing in society, level of education and so on, the right to “rights” as stated in the UNO Declaration is further jeopardised. The implications for educational provision from early childhood and onwards in countries where “rights” are not entrenched in statutes or where child advocacy is not forceful enough for all people are examined in this paper. Consequently, the chances for equal opportunity in life are reduced in situations where the child did not receive the benefit of education. Such a child may not perish as he might as a result of being deprived of food, but “the deprivation and injustice, the degradation of an individual and the setting of his vital interests at naught would at least approach in gravity the act of allowing him to die for the want of food” (1981, Wringe). In this paper, the author argues for the Rights of the Child, particularly where discrimination and inequalities exist and where provision for early education has to contend with excessive population growth.     

Working With Street Children: A Child-centred Approach

This paper reviews the theoretical approaches that espouse a child-centred approach in intervening with street children. It focuses on two major themes, namely the rights of the child and client self-determination as proposed by Adler (Corey, 2001). The discussion acknowledges that providing street children with opportunities to participate in decision-making regarding their own lives is imperative. Notwithstanding their alleged marginalization, substantial motivation is provided for the adoption of a client-centred approach that upholds the rights of the child. The paper draws attention to the fact that despite the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), many street children experience deprivation with regard to their basic human needs. It is envisaged that whatever the circumstances for children being on the street, their involvement and participation in alleviating their plight will not be compromised.     

Taking action for children's rights: The foyle experience

The Convention on the Rights of the Child was passed unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly on the 20 November 1989. The United Kingdom ratified die Convention in 1991 signalling its willingness to meet the provisions and obligations set out within it. In January of this year, ten agencies drawn from both the statutory and voluntary sectors in Deny came together and formed a partnership to take affirmative action widi regard to the issue of Children's Rights. They identified two estates within the city, one on the west bank and one on die east. Aldiough the two estates represented bom traditions, they shared many similarities regarding levels of deprivation and absence of facilities.

Summary

We found overall gratitude and appreciation for enlightenment of Children's Rights. Many people enquired whether this project would be carried out in areas where their friends and relatives lived and when told that there were no plans for this in the immediate future then they asked for extra literature for their friends and relatives.

Aside from the Project we found varying degrees of anger, frustration, disillusionment and apathy in the estate regarding raised hopes in the past by surveys, and an acknowledgement of need, but there was no movement on provision of facilities which might help parents keep children safe both at home and away.

Things like - safe play areas - playgrounds, nursery school, playgroup, youth club, library, health clinic. People were saying, “anything we have, we bought and paid for ourselves and it looks as if the more you do yourself, the less you get from the public purse.”     

Children's rights: television programmes aired in Singapore

This article focuses on aspects of children's rights as portrayed in television. The results of a six-month research study show analyses of television content of Channel 5, which is the only free-to-air, 24-hour, English-language entertainment channel in Singapore. The results identify the role of television in assisting Singapore to meet its obligations in regard to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. News and advertisements aired on Channel 5 during primetime (between 7 pm and 10 pm) were recorded over a six-month period, and those featuring or related to children were analysed for the study. The samples were categorised and subcategorised based on the principles of the Convention (UNICEF, (2011a, June 2). Convention on the rights of the child. Rights Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child): Participation, Protection, Development, and Survival. A fifth category, not under United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child-Object, was devised by the researchers. The results of this study have shown that the representation of children on television in Singapore is, in part, a reflection of how Singaporean society views children. Analyses of the media content indicated that protection and development of children was Singapore's top priority. Despite the fact that children were considered to need adult protection there was no reference to the Convention.     

Every child mattered in England: but what matters to children?

‘Every Child Matters' under New Labour provided a framework for services for young children's care and education. It was pushed aside by the Conservative-led coalition and replaced by ‘More Great Childcare'. The UK as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, therefore has obligations for legislation, policy and curriculum, specifically with regard to children's rights and participation. On the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, in practice there may be different levels of participation employed to engage children's views in the development of policy about them. This project sets out to ask children about what ‘matters' to them. Ninety finalist Early Childhood Studies students worked as co-researchers in this project. Five themes are discussed highlighting the powerful thoughts and ideas of children. A range of ‘child-friendly’ methods were used to collect data from children including role-play, interviews, drawings and artefacts, and story-telling.     

Spirituality in Child and Youth Care: Considering Spiritual Development and “Relational Consciousness”

In response to the identification of spiritual development as part of children's lives in both the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1991) and the Association for Child and Youth Care Practice's document: Competencies for Professional Child and Youth Work Practitioners (Mattingly & Stuart, 2001), this paper considers a theoretical model of children's spirituality, relational consciousness, as proposed by Hay and Nye (1998). The paper encourages the introduction of a framework for understanding and exploring spiritual development in child and youth care research and practice that respects the cultural and social diversity of both religious and nonreligious settings and the lifespan developmental processes of children.     

Implementing Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Child Protection Decision-Making: a Critical Analysis of the Challenges and Opportunities for Social Work

One of the most frequently cited principles in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is Article 12. This article provides a critical analysis of the challenges that child protection social work faces when implementing Article 12 in social work decision-making whilst simultaneously keeping children safe. The article begins with an outline of the general reasons for involving children in decisions that affect them but argues that despite being beneficial, implementing Article 12 has proved to be problematic due to theoretical, practical and ethical challenges within social work which will be examined. The article continues by arguing that it is possible to overcome these obstacles using Lundy’s model of conceptualising Article 12 as a real-world tool that offers practical solutions to help social work/workers overcome rather than avoid the identified challenges. It is intended that these suggestions will help empower social work/workers to discharge their legal obligation to enable children to be heard in decisions that affect them. The article concludes by arguing for a more empowering approach to children’s involvement in social work decision-making with some reflections on the future of Article 12 within the social work paradigm.     

Children's rights and education

In the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), which was ratified by the U.K. Government in 1991, children's rights were categorised into three types - provision, protection and participation. In this paper only provision and participation in relation to children and young people in school will be discussed. Since education in Northern Ireland is compulsory for children aged four to 16 this paper concentrates on that group and not on the age range defined by the U.N. Convention as 'child' which extends to age 18.     

Listening To Children, Speaking For Children: Health and Social Services Complaints and Child Advocacy

Health and Personal Social Services are required to respond positively and effectively to complaints from service users. This paper discusses the importance of such complaints systems in upholding children's rights, and in particular Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It outlines the nature of some of the advocacy services available to children and young people who may wish to make a complaint about their treatment within Northern Ireland Health and Personal Social Services. It then moves on to discuss some possible future developments, and in particular speculates on the potential role of the Northern Ireland Children's Commissioner in investigating complaints concerning the care and treatment of children in Northern Ireland health and personal social services.     

Young People's Views on Communities and Sectarianism in Northern Ireland

Current legislation, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the Children (NI) Order (1995) and the Northern Ireland Act (1998), places an increasing emphasis on directly consulting children and young people in Northern Ireland. Within this context, there is a growing interest in the authentic views of children and young people on sectarianism. This paper discusses the process and findings from three Young National Children's Bureau talk-shops that provides insight into young people's views on growing up in communities in Northern Ireland and their experiences of sectarianism.     

Children's Services Planning in Northern Ireland: Developing a Planning Model to Address Rights and Needs

This article reflects on a number of key concepts and planning tools that have been developed or adapted through the inter-agency planning of services for children and young people in Northern Ireland (Children's Services Planning). These conceptual models have been developed between 1999 and 2005 and illustrate the key contribution of Children's Services Planning to two significant shifts in how the planning task has been understood. These refer to, firstly, the movement from service orientation to needs orientation, and secondly, the progression from needs to rights within service planning.

Children's Services Planning in Northern Ireland is now based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Whole Child Model, which demonstrates the understanding that there is no such thing as a uni-dimensional child who only requires services from one agency. The Family Support model has been in use for some years within the process, and the joint outcomes framework, to be designed to enable agencies to address rights and needs has also been adopted across all four Children and Young People's Committees. In terms of outcomes, an overarching Strategy for Children and Young People will develop an outcomes framework within Northern Ireland, which is likely to build upon that of Every Child Matters, as well as children's rights. Children's Services Planning has also demonstrated that the approach to planning of universal services must be consistent with the planning of services for children with additional needs. There needs to be a strong linkage between the planning and delivery of universal and targeted services.

It is a contention of the article that concepts such as those described are required for multi-sectoral planning, and that a whole system planning approach is required to address the rights and needs of children and young people.     

Ideological Reflections on the DSM-IV-R (or Pay No Attention to That Man Behind the Curtain, Dorothy!)

Exclusive North American reliance on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4^th Edition-Revised (DSM-IV-R) to determine diagnoses such as Conduct Disorder or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder occurs without sufficient critical regard for its ideologically and historically situated assumptions. The author argues for a parallel theoretical framework to guide interventions that is provided for children's practitioners through ongoing implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Rather than relying solely upon the deficit labelling of the DSM-IV-R with its underlying deterministic beliefs about child development, this holistic, rights-based approach assumes young people to be competent social actors whose lives are worthy of study in their own right. The author draws upon comparative theory within the sociology of childhood, practice insights and three case studies for support.     

Early childhood economic disadvantage and the health of Hispanic children

This research provides a longitudinal view of early childhood economic deprivation and its associations with health among young Hispanic children born in the United States. Of additional interest is whether economic deprivation is associated with child health similarly across all Hispanic children or whether associations differ by maternal nativity or country of origin. Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing data and multinomial logistic regression are used to estimate the effects of total years in poverty, material hardship, and lack of health insurance on Hispanic children's health status at age 5 and change in health status between ages 1 and 5. Results show that multiple measures of early childhood economic deprivation have additive negative associations with Hispanic child health, and that living more years in poverty is associated with declining health status among young Hispanic children. Interaction effects indicate that early childhood poverty has stronger associations with lower age 5 health status and declining health between ages 1 and 5 for children with foreign-born Hispanic mothers than for those with native-born Hispanic mothers. No differences were found in the associations between economic deprivation and child health by maternal country of origin. These results suggest an important role of economic resources for protecting Hispanic child health, and that poor Hispanic children with immigrant mothers may be at particularly high risk of developing health problems as they move out of infancy and into early childhood.     

Safeguarding the Lives of Children Affected by Boko Haram: Application of the SAFE Model of Child Protection to a Rights-Based Situation Analysis

The Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria is responsible for the highest number of lives lost in Africa in the past decade. The country has witnessed significant violations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Nigeria has signed and ratified. For instance, Nigeria had the second-highest number of children recruited to armed groups and the third-highest number of abductions in 2018. Current humanitarian efforts primarily target camps for internally displaced persons, while state strategies focus mainly on addressing security through combatant-targeted interventions. However, there is a need for more rights-based, integrated, and multifaceted approaches to tackle the interrelated threats to the security of children and their families affected by the conflict. This paper uses the SAFE model of child protection—which examines the interrelatedness of safety, access, family, and education and economic security—to analyze the challenges of children and youth affected by the conflict. We highlight the need for a gendered approach; strategies that address poverty and cultural and governance barriers; and interdisciplinary, context-specific, and autonomous child protection systems. The paper calls for urgent and increased attention to the core rights and human security needs of these children to avoid a replay of negative outcomes of conflict, where the costs and consequences propagate a cycle of violence and disadvantage.     

Upholding the Convention on the Rights of the Child: A Quandary in Cyberspace

Put in place to protect the rights of the child, the Convention on the Rights of the Child is a set of non-negotiable standards. A core principle underpinning the Convention is the child's right to participate fully in social arenas and to access sources of social support without excessive interference. Juxtaposing this is the right of the child to be shielded from harm, abuse and exploitation. Over the past several decades the Internet has emerged as a fast and easily accessible medium for people to connect and communicate. While the Internet provides children with a source of support through chat rooms, online communities and social networking sites, just as equally it can expose vulnerable children to predatory and deviant individuals exacerbating the potential for harm. Upholding the Convention in cyberspace is a challenge. The Internet is not owned or regulated by any governing body and accountability is difficult to enforce. This article discusses some of the difficulties of upholding the Convention online and provides recommendations for policy-makers to protect children as they participate in cyberspace.     

Does industry regulation of food advertising protect child rights?

This paper explores whether industry self-regulation of food advertising to children protects child rights. The New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) system is analysed with respect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC). Content analysis of data sources such as the ASA website and key documents is used. Eight decisions on public complaints about advertising are analysed. This research finds that implementation of the codes includes partial, unjustified and inconsistent decision making by the complaints board; failure to implement changes to codes; and failure to prevent unhealthy food advertisements being developed and aired. The ASA system is found to be reactive, to have limited sanctions, to provide little incentive for restraint by advertisers, and to lack independent monitoring. This analysis suggests the New Zealand advertising standards system does not protect the rights of children by failing to enact the spirit of UNCROC and specifically by not adequately addressing Articles 3, 6 and 13. Given the extent of the harm to children worldwide of unhealthy eating patterns, the evidence of the contribution of marketing to poor nutrition and the findings of this research, it is concluded that government regulation of marketing of food to children should be implemented globally. This would assist governments to reduce the effects of one of the key environmental contributors to unhealthy eating patterns and enable them to meet their obligations in international law to protect the rights of children.     

Children's Participation in Child-protection Processes as Experienced by Foster Children and Social Workers

Children in foster care often have no means of influencing matters that concern them, and can easily become outsiders in their own lives. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child enshrines the rights of capable children to express their views freely in matters affecting them and to be heard in any judicial or administrative proceedings concerning them. The aim of this study is to analyse foster children's participation in child welfare processes in different time periods and contexts from the perspective of children and social workers. The data comprise semi-structured interviews of eight children and young people aged seven to 17 in family foster care, as well as interviews of four child welfare social workers. Ethical questions were taken carefully into account. The results suggest that participation in matters concerning them is very significant to children, although they do not always want be active participants (e.g. in meetings). The children hoped that social workers would take a genuine interest in them, listen to them and take their opinions and wishes into consideration. Children sought true and essential information about the reasons for placements and the plans for their future. They felt they were better heard and more able to influence their own affairs after being placed in a foster home than during earlier phases of services. The study identifies many obstacles in children's participation at different systemic levels. Children's loyalty to their parents may prevent them from expressing their opinions. According to social workers, the most serious obstacles in participatory work with children are related to a lack of human and time resources. Social workers need time, work practices, skills and practical wisdom through which children's personal experiences, opinions and wishes can be better heard. They also seek support in handling the emotional aspects of child-protection work and suggest some other measures to develop their work.     

Adolescents' Experiences of the Right to Play and Leisure in Northern Ireland

Under Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child under the age of 18 has the right to engage in age-appropriate play and leisure activities. Drawing on the qualitative findings of a wider review of children's rights in Northern Ireland, this article examines the degree to which adolescents in Northern Ireland are currently able to enjoy this right. The data presented in the article are primarily based on the views of young people, as expressed in focus group discussions with their peers, although this is at times contextualised by the contributions of adult participants and the findings of an in-depth policy and literature review. The article argues that young people's right to play and leisure is not currently adequately recognised within Northern Ireland, noting the impact of the increasing demonisation and marginalisation of youth upon both this and their accompanying right to protection. The article concludes with a consideration of the potential implications of the current failure to afford young people adequate and appropriate play and leisure opportunities, calling on the State party to urgently deliver on the commitments it made in ratifying the Convention.     

Raising healthy children: Moral and political responsibility for childhood obesity

Childhood obesity and chronic disease rates continue to climb, but policy and programme responses are mainly limited to education and awareness activities. These encourage individuals to make responsible lifestyle choices. Regulation and environmental change have a minor role, as they involve more intrusive roles for government, invading traditionally private domains of nutrition and physical activity. But to address children's health needs, today's emphasis on self-management is inappropriate. Children, especially the very young, are dependent and vulnerable. I describe why the current public health strategies, with their political and moral foundations, remain ineffective. The foundations are based primarily upon the traditional liberal understanding of the public/private divide, while neglecting to recognize the legal obligations and implications of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and theories of justice and citizenship as they apply to children.