Dr Shirley Martin, Dr Catherine Forde, Dr Audrey Dunn Galvin
and Dr Angela O'Connell,University College Cork
THE NATIONAL CHILDREN’S STRATEGY 2000 GOAL 1 INITIATIVES
Department of Children and Youth Affairs participatory initiatives supporting the implementation of Goal 1: Comhairle na nÓg (local youth councils);Dáil na nÓg (National Youth Parliament);Comhairle na nÓg National Executive (formerly
the Dáil na nÓg Council);Children and Young People’s Forum;Children and Young People’s Participation Support
Team in 2009;National consultations with children and young
people.
Child and youth councils in the 34 City and County Development Board areas.
Aim to give children and young people voice in the development of local services and policies- which link with adult decision-making
bodies.
Bi-annual national parliament for young people aged 12-18 years hosted by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Delegates are elected to Dáil na nÓg by the 34 Comhairle na nÓg.
One representative from each Comhairle na nÓg is elected to the Comhairle na nÓg National Executive (formerly Dáil na nÓg Council), which follows up on the Oireachtas Committees and other decision-makers.
Comhairlí na nÓg Dáil na nÓg
AIMS OF THE STUDY
To gain insight into the experiences and outcomes of participation for children and young people who are currently involved and have been involved in DYCA participation initiatives.
To use participatory research methods to develop a research and evaluation model that takes account of children’s and young people’s voices, is informed by consultation with the DCYA and is grounded in national and international literature.
AREAS OF IMPACT
The study utilised a holistic model of participation underpinned by Ackermann et al’s (2003) four realms of impact:
This model was adapted to take account of participants’ experiences of the impact of the DYCA initiatives in four main areas:
Personal Familial Communal Institutional
Personal Family CommunityDecision-making in
Irish Society
PARTICIPATION INITIATIVES EXAMINED IN RESEARCH
Participation Structures Dáil na nÓg Comhairle Na nÓg; including 2012 Comhairle
Na nÓg National Showcase DCYA Children and Young People’s Forum
Consultation Case Studies Listen to our voices! - Hearing children and
young people living in the care of the state (2011)
Mental Health Consultations with Teenagers ‘What helps and what hurts?’ (2008).
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH METHODS
28 adult research participants; Comhairle na nÓg coordinators (17), support staff DCYA participation structures (6) and decision-makers (5)
330 young people were involved as respondents and young researchers.
Qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed including surveys of past and present youth participants; interviews; focus groups
and observations.
Research Steering Group
ROLE OF YOUNG RESEARCHERS
Administered survey of 17 randomly selected Comhairle na nÓg; facilitated 4 focus groups, and
interviewed key decision-makers.
Research Training sessions and ongoing engagement with UCC research team.
Members of the Steering Group and involved in research design, data collection and analysis
(Consensus Workshop)
RESEARCH FINDING
1. Personal impacts
2. Community impacts
3. Family impacts
4. Impact on Institutions
and decision-making
5. Pathways to
representation
POSITIVE PERSONAL IMPACTS FOR CHILD AND YOUTH PARTICIPANTS (CYP)
POSITIVE PERSONAL IMPACTS FOR CHILD AND YOUTH PARTICIPANTS (CYP)
Personal skills development is the area most positively impacted by participation, followed by improved confidence, social skills, self-esteem and development of their social networks.
Almost all of the CYP would recommend membership of Comhairle na nÓg .
Participation initiatives create a safe space for some seldom heard young people and in particular a safe space to discuss issues of difference and social justice.
FAMILY IMPACTS
Family Impact
s
Proud, intereste
d
More respect at
home
Changes at home
Provide practical support
COMMUNITY IMPACTS
CNN main contact point
for consultation with children and young
people
Local, relevant and achievable
work most successful for CNN
CNN adopts youth-led approach
IMPACTS OF PARTICIPATION AT COMMUNITY LEVEL
Positive impact of child and youth participation on youth spaces in community
Increased awareness of CYP’s issues; this could be viewed as raising the status of children and young people within their own communities.
Local decision-making often not youth friendly
Impact of budget cuts hampers access to decision-makers
Attitudes of some decision-makers towards youth participation problematic
SOCIETAL IMPACTS
Opportunities to influence policy
Young people seek policy
change
Participation officers
Access to decision-makers
National and local fora,
consultations Media coverage
IMPACT ON INSTITUTIONS AND DECISION-MAKING IN IRISH SOCIETY
DCYA participation spaces respect children and young people both as community members and value them as citizens in their own rights.
Positive impact on social justice and youth issues.
Changing cultural attitudes to children and young people’s participation- noticeable shift towards the inclusion of children and young people’s views in some decision-making processes.
A particular factor in this cultural shift is the work of adult facilitators or participation ‘champions’ in pushing the participation agenda.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS BY SUCCESSIVE DÁIL NA NÓG COUNCILS
Fairsay! media campaign highlighted the negative portrayal of teenagers (2007-2008).
Young people involved in developing HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention’s Youth Mental Health advertisement, called ‘The boy with the hoodie’, and awareness campaign (2008-2009).
Influenced the Minister for Health and Children’s decision to commence the cervical cancer vaccine programme for 12-year-old girls (2010).
SOME KEY ACHIEVEMENTS BY SUCCESSIVE DÁIL NA NÓG COUNCILS
Peer-led, evidence-based survey on implementation levels of SPHE and RSE among young people.
Life skills matter – not just points: A Survey of Implementation of Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) and Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in second-level schools
Consultation with young people on reform of the Junior Cycle in partnership with DCYA and National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).
How We See It: Report of a survey on young people's body image (2012)
PATHWAYS TO REPRESENTATION: SCHOOL
Schools
Gate-keeping
‘A’ students
Weak student council modelRelationships
with Comhairle
Co-ordinators
Need for a network of
relationships
Focus on Transition
Year
Limited age group
CONCLUSIONS
Comhairle na nÓg provides support and advocacy in the pursuit of issues relevant to children and young people.
Child and youth participation spaces created by the DCYA may be viewed as attempting to create Lundy’s (2007) conditions of space (to express views), voice (opportunities to express views), audience (to be listened to) and influence (have views acted upon).
Participants are positive about their experience of voice, space and audience, but the area of influence requires further work and support.
QUOTE FROM YOUTH PARTICIPANT
When adults know what a young person’s view can be, is actually, Wow! Like a young person knows what they’re talking about, when you understand that, then you would always take it into account. You’d always like, think of asking young people. But a lot of adults just forget, and they forget
what it was like to be a young person and they really need to know that, like, because there was
more work done by young people like this in Youth Forums, and definitely, people who work with
children know how important we are. It’s people who haven’t worked with children, and even
people who don’t have kids themselves, they just, they forget what it was like. (Female, CYPF)