Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity

Now in its third edition, Human Rights and Social Work explores how the principles of human rights inform contemporary social work practice. Jim Ife considers the implications of social work's traditional Enlightenment heritage and the possibilities of 'post-Enlightenment' practice in a way that is accessible, direct and engaging. The world has changed significantly since the publication of the first edition in 2000 and this book is situated firmly within the context of present-day debates, concerns and crises. Ife covers the importance of relating human rights to the non-human world, as well as the consequences of political and ecological uncertainty. Featuring examples, further readings and a glossary, readers are able to identify and investigate the important issues and questions arising from human rights and social work. Now more than ever, Human Rights and Social Work is an indispensable resource for students, scholars and practitioners alike.

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Human Rights and Social Work: Towards Rights-Based Practice

This paper describes the process and some findings of a collaborative project between the New South Wales Commission for Children and Young People and researchers at the Social Justice and Social Change Research Centre, at the University of Western Sydney. The project was designed to inform the Commission in implementing its legislative mandate to develop a set of well-being indicators to monitor children's well-being over time. Placing children centrally as research participants was fundamental to the methodological approach of the project in which children's understandings of what contributes to their well-being were explored through qualitative methods. We discuss the epistemological and methodological approaches used in the project, in the context of other, earlier research towards the development of children's well-being indicators. Some of the early findings from the collaborative project are outlined and an example given of the way in which knowledge produced by a research approach which places children centrally, differs from and is similar to knowledge produced by more traditional child social indicator research. The paper ends with a discussion of some of the implications and challenges posed by reflecting on the research process and early findings from the research.

Children's conceptualisation(s) of their well-being

‘Wellbeing’ is a key concept in the study of children’s lives over time, given its potential to link the objective, subjective, and inter-subjective dimensions of their experiences in ways that are holistic, contextualized and longitudinal. For this reason wellbeing is one of the core concepts used by Young Lives, a 15-year project (2000–2015) that follows the lives of 12,000 children growing up in the context of poverty in Ethiopia, Peru, Vietnam and Andhra Pradesh (India) (see http://www.younglives.org.uk). This paper examines a selection of methods being used by Young Lives to capture aspects of child wellbeing in the context of a range of children’s life experiences related to poverty, specific risks and protective processes. It draws on a review of the literature on child-focused methods and on recent experiences piloting three core qualitative methods in the four study countries. The paper reports the development of a methodology that is child-centred, but also acknowledges that every child is embedded within a network of social and economic relationships.

How can children tell us about their wellbeing? Exploring the potential of participatory research approaches within young lives

This paper reflects on the opportunity to take steps in the direction of proposing international systems of subjective social indicators of children’s and adolescents’ well-being. In order to contextualize such a reflection, a brief summary of the historical and epistemological foundations of the concept of social indicators, and of some of the controversies associated with the research results during the first decades of its existence, is made. Such foundations, research results and consequent debates have mostly been developed considering only adult populations, but they are reviewed here to explore research goals in relation to children’s and adolescents’ well-being and to link these goals to political action and decision making and the evaluation of its impact. The lack of internationaly comparable subjective data on children’s and adolescents’ well-being at the macro level may be related, among other things, to the lack of political importance given to the younger population’s point of view and to the lack of consistent or convincing research at a micro-level indicating what data-collection instruments are appropriate for making cross-national or cross-cultural comparisons. However, at present, research on children’s and adolescents’ own points of view about their living conditions—although still in its early stages and very heterogeneous—is already showing rapid advances and even provocative and unexpected results, of which a few examples are given. Tested instruments are already available, but systematic data collection is still scarce, and comparable data to be used for international comparisons is infrequent. Systematic data collection of children’s and adolescents’ perceptions, evaluations and aspirations that can be used as subjective social indicators requires political will, associated with the conviction that such data can be useful for decision-making and for evaluating social change. An increasing international interest in children’s rights to social participation seems to be an opportunity to promote links with research on childrens’ and adolescents’ well-being, both objective and subjective. Having an overall panorama of all these elements may be helpful to guide debates on what research is still needed and on what are the major challenges to be faced when offering research data to policy makers and to the public opinion.

Subjective Social Indicators and Child and Adolescent Well-being

This paper explores the notion of the 'subject' in studies of childrens subjective wellbeing. Increasingly, those researching children's well-being are acknowledging children as agents and including them as participants in research in order to tap into, and report on, their subjectivities. We explore this trend to show how dominant approaches privilege an 'objectivist' approach to subjectivity that informs epistemological and methodological approaches and has implications for policy and practice. An alternative approach is discussed which places children centrally as subjects.

Locating the Child Centrally as Subject in Research: Towards a Child Interpretation of Well-Being

Children's Understandings of Well-being: Towards a Child Standpoint

Foreword, Mary John, Professor Emeritus, University of Exeter. Working Seriously Towards New Partnerships: An Introduction. Toby Fattore and Jan Mason with Chris Sidoti, International Service for Children's Rights, Geneva. Part 1: Theory. 1. Women's Studies/Childhood Studies: Parallels, Links and Perspectives. Leena Alanen, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. 2. Theorizing Representation of and Engagement with Children: The Political Dimension of Child-Oriented Communication. Toby Fattore, New South Wales Commission for Children and Young People and Nick Turnbull, University of New South Wales. 3. Virtual Reality: Children as Constituents in Social Welfare and Social Policy Constructions. Marie Wilkinson, formerly University of Sydney. 4. Childhood and Sexuality: Adult Constructions and Silenced Children. Kerry H. Robinson, University of Western Sydney. Part 2: Policy. 5. The Social Condition of UK Childhoods: Children's Understandings and Their Implications. Berry Mayall, Institute of Education, University of London. 6. Child Protection Policy and the Construction of Childhood. Jan Mason, University of Western Sydney. 7. 'To Know Them is to Love Them', But Instead Fear and Loathing: Community Perceptions of Young People. Natalie Bolzan, University of Western Sydney. 8. The Objectification of the Child through 'Physical Discipline' and Language: The Debate on Children's Rights Continues. Bernadette J. Saunders and Chris Goddard, Monash University. 9. Children's Democratic Rights: What We Can Learn From Young Workers Organizing Themselves. Per Miljeteig, Psychologist and Child Rights consultant. Part 3: Practice. 10. Taking Young People Seriously Means Giving Them Serious Things to Do. Roger Holdsworth, University of Melbourne. 11. Negotiating Competing Versions of 'The Child': A Pre-School Child's Competence in Parent-Teacher Talk at the Pre-School. Michelle J. Leiminer, University of Queensland and Carolyn D. Baker, formerly University of Queensland. 12. Using Computers at Home and at School: Children's Views and Perspectives. Toni Downes, University of Western Sydney. 13. Preschool Girls, Conflict and Repair. Susan Danby, Queensland University of Technology. 14. Children's Perceptions of School. Neriman Osman, New South Wales Office of Children's Guardian. 15. Organisational Morality and Children's Engagement in Early Childhood Programs. Donna Berthelsen, Queensland University of Technology. 16. Today I Discovered... Helen Woodward, University of Western Sydney. 17. The Voice of the Child in the Family Group Conferencing Model. Patricia Kiely, UnitingCare Burnside, Sydney, Australia. Appendix: Transcript Notation. References. The Contributors. Subject Index. Author Index.

Toby Fattore

Papers

Children's conceptualisation(s) of their well-being

Locating the Child Centrally as Subject in Research: Towards a Child Interpretation of Well-Being

Children's Understandings of Well-being: Towards a Child Standpoint

Children taken seriously : in theory, policy and practice

Theorising Representation of and Engagement with Children: The Political Dimension of Child-Oriented Communication