E Kay M Tisdall | University of Edinburgh (original) (raw)
Papers by E Kay M Tisdall
A Handbook of Children and Young People’s Participation, 2023
This is a book chapter. Houghton, C., Mazur, J., Kansour-Sinclair, L. and Tisdall, E.K.M. (2023... more This is a book chapter.
Houghton, C., Mazur, J., Kansour-Sinclair, L. and Tisdall, E.K.M. (2023) ‘Being a young political actor’, in Twum-Danso Imoh, A., Thomas, N.P., O’Kane, C., and Percy-Smith, B. (eds) A Handbook of Children and Young People’s Participation, London: Routledge, pp. 222-229.
Children's Geographies, 2023
Mary Ann Powell, Sukanya Krishnamurthy, Loritta Chan, E. Kay M. Tisdall, Irene Rizzini & Roshni K... more Mary Ann Powell, Sukanya Krishnamurthy, Loritta Chan, E. Kay M. Tisdall, Irene Rizzini & Roshni K. Nuggehalli (2023) Reimagining institutional ethics procedures in research partnerships with young people across Majority/Minority World contexts, Children's Geographies, DOI: 10.1080/14733285.2023.2237923
This is an open access article.
While institutional ethics are crucial, their application on the ground often creates tensions with what is considered ‘ethical'. This paper reflects on the dissonances between formal institutional ethics and community-based research. The focus is on a project involving young people from India and Brazil, where they actively contributed as co-researchers and advisors. The project's international collaboration encompassed partners from Majority and Minority World contexts, including universities, community organizations, and government bodies. The project, initially planned before the Covid-19 pandemic but implemented during it, necessitated adjustments to its methodology. This paper examines the role of institutional ethic procedures in light of power imbalances and tensions within three areas: (1) research co-production with young people, (2) collaborative cross-country research with partners, and (3) the relevance of ethical guidelines in diverse research contexts. We raise concerns about the top-down nature of these procedures and emphasise the significance of reflexivity, conversations, and relationships in ethical considerations. With growing research in the Majority world (funded by the Minority world), there is an urgent need to recognise and build on the expertise of experienced local civic society organisations in ethical research and safeguarding, to work in genuine, respectful partnership with those we do research with.
Children & Society, 2023
Authors: Sukanya Krishnamurthy, Loritta Chan, Mary Ann Powell, E. Kay M. Tisdall, Irene Rizzini, ... more Authors: Sukanya Krishnamurthy, Loritta Chan, Mary Ann Powell, E. Kay M. Tisdall, Irene Rizzini, Roshni K. Nuggehalli, Alicia Tauro, Bharath Palavalli
This is an open access article https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12802
This paper explores how research advisory groups can be a vehicle for youth activism. It draws on our experiences with young activists, aged 15–26 years, in India and Brazil, who were advisors on a research project focused on youth livelihoods in cities. These young people played a vital role in supporting youth researchers, identifying research themes and developing engagement and advocacy strategies. Through this paper, we explore how the Youth Expert Group advisory model evolved differently in each location and examine how these were shaped by the context, the ‘adult’ research team and the youth activists themselves. A critically reflexive response in intergenerational partnership is essential to support youth activists in research activities.
The International Journal of Human Rights, 2019
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the most ratified international human rig... more The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the most ratified international human rights treaty. Yet problems continue about ensuring that children's rights are recognised and supported in their daily lives. To this end, informal and formal efforts have been made for greater incorporation of the UNCRC into national law and policies. This special journal issue learns from these latest efforts, for the benefit of all human rights advocates in policy, practice and academia. The editorial outlines the contributions from eight articles, which were written by young people, practitioners who are directly influencing policy and practice, and academics from across the UK, Canada and Ireland with both national and international expertise. Written from different disciplines (including law, public policy and education), the special journal issue aims to enhance the critical evidence and strategic approach to implementing human rights in practice.
The International Journal of Human Rights, 2019
Andressa Gadda has worked as a researcher in the field of child care and protection for over 10 y... more Andressa Gadda has worked as a researcher in the field of child care and protection for over 10 years. Most recently she was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Child Wellbeing and Protection (CCWP) at the University of Stirling. She is currently the Head of Policy and Research at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI). Juliet Harris is the Director of Together (Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights) and leads the organisation in promoting and monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) across Scotland. This includes working with Together's membership of over 380 children's organisations and professionals to produce an annual State of Children's Rights report, as well as liaising with government and parliamentarians to further children's rights in legislation, policy and practice. Juliet's previous experience includes six years tackling the destitution and poverty of refugees and asylum seekers, alongside a number of roles with charities working in the field of health and homelessness.
The International Journal of Human Rights, 2022
This is an open access article. Policy responses to COVID-19 have had dramatic impacts on childre... more This is an open access article. Policy responses to COVID-19 have had dramatic impacts on children’s human rights, as much as the COVID-19 pandemic itself. In the rush to protect the human right of survival and development, new policies and their implementation magnified the challenges of taking a children’s rights approach in adult-oriented systems and institutions. This article explores these challenges, drawing on learning from the independent Children’s Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) on policies affecting children in Scotland during ‘lockdown’ in spring 2020. The article uses concepts from childhood studies and legal philosophy to highlight issues for children’s human rights, in such areas as children in conflict with the law, domestic abuse, poverty and digital exclusion. The analysis uncovers how persistent constructions of children as vulnerable and best protected in their families led to systematic disadvantages for certain groups of children and failed to address all of children’s human rights to protection, provision and participation. The independent CRIA illuminates gaps in rights’ accountability, such as the lack of children’s rights indicators and disaggregated data, children’s inadequate access to complaints and justice, and the need for improved information to and participation of children.
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 2021
Despite the widespread ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ... more Despite the widespread ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children continue to struggle to have their participation rights recognised and supported. This is evident within family law, where despite sometimes progressive and strong legislation, children's views are often not heard nor given due weight, when parent-child contact is contested within the courts. This paper explores barriers to children's participation rights being realised. It uses Scotland as the example, due to its strong legal safeguards and mechanisms that aim to support participation rights. The paper draws on recent empirical research with legal professionals, combined with an analysis of reported case law and relevant literature, to explore the barriers 'on the ground' for children's participation rights. Through our analysis, we offer new ways to conceptualise the notion of influence in children's participation rights in family actions. We offer the conceptual devices of 'the influenced child' and 'the influential child' to elucidate how children's participation rights are restricted.
Family Court Review, 2020
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has catalysed numerous jurisdictions to ... more The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has catalysed numerous jurisdictions to introduce new legal provisions to support children's participation rights when child contact is contested. Despite this, children's participation is frequently limited in practice, especially in contexts where children are perceived as vulnerable to a parent's manipulation, even if there are allegations of domestic abuse. While "resist and refusal dynamics" have yet to become mainstream terms in Scottish family law, "manipulation" has become a common concern in cases of contested contact. Drawing on a Scottish empirical study on contested child contact in circumstances of domestic abuse, we interrogate the implications that the concept of manipulation has for children's participation rights. The study involved separate in-depth interviews with 18 children and their 16 mothers. Findings point to concerns about upholding children's participation rights, particularly in cases where children were depicted as "influenced" or "manipulated." Through our analysis, we disentangle the problems professionals have when concerns about child manipulation and domestic abuse intersect. We argue that, when combined, allegations of manipulation and domestic abuse present a significant and serious risk to children's participation rights. We find the legal construction of the child's views as separate from the parental dispute to have unintended and serious consequences for children's participation rights. We offer ways in which law and practice may evolve to ensure children's participation rights in these contexts are both implemented and upheld.
This article draws on child activists' experiences in Bangladesh and Ghana, who mobilised to stop... more This article draws on child activists' experiences in Bangladesh and Ghana, who mobilised to stop potential child marriages from their respective Child Forums and Children's Parliaments. Case studies were undertaken with 75 child activists, 10 girls whose child marriages had been stopped, and 22 adult stakeholders. The children's activism disrupted intergenerational relations-unsettling adults' attitudes towards children-and depended on such relationschildren were successful in stopping child marriages because they drew on critical social capital and mobilised key stakeholders. Children's activism thus has lessons for children's participation literature more generally, in the synergies between children's mobilisation and intergenerational relations.
Theory of Change Making Children's Rights Real in Scotland, 2022
Theory of Change for Making Children's Rights Real in Scotland, 2022
Summary. Since the Scottish Parliament unanimously passed the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland)... more Summary.
Since the Scottish Parliament unanimously passed the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill in a landmark vote in March 2021, many people and organisations in Scotland have been considering how best to implement the Bill and ensure children’s human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled.
To support this transformative change, the Observatory of Children’s Human Rights Scotland, 'Matter of Focus' and 'Public Health Scotland' were awarded a grant by the Scottish Government, to lead a collaborative effort to develop a Theory of Change for the process of UNCRC implementation in Scotland between November 2021 and March 2022.
Authors are: Helen Berry, Jennifer Davidson, Eloise di Gianni, Sarah Morton, Deborah Wason and Kay Tisdall
The International Journal of Human Rights, 2022
This is an open access article. Policy responses to COVID-19 have illuminated how children and yo... more This is an open access article. Policy responses to COVID-19 have illuminated how children and young people’s human rights were all too often side-lined by adult concerns. With mounting queries during the first ‘lockdown’ in Scotland (March 2020), the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland asked the Observatory of Children’s Human Rights Scotland to undertake an independent Children’s Rights Impact Assessment of COVID-19 emergency public health measures on children and young people in Scotland. The resulting analysis proved not only productive for immediate policy advocacy but had broader lessons about how states parties can respect, protect and fulfil children and young people’s human rights at times of crisis and disaster. This requires challenging adult approaches and orientations to policy, so all of children and young people’s rights to provision, protection and participation are met, especially groups of children and young people who may be at particular risk of rights’ violations. This editorial outlines the process and substantive learning from the independent CRIA, from a range of experts, including children and young people.
International Journal of Human Rights, 2022
This is an open access article. Policy responses to COVID-19 have had dramatic impacts on childre... more This is an open access article. Policy responses to COVID-19 have had dramatic impacts on children’s human rights, as much as the COVID-19 pandemic itself. In the rush to protect the human right of survival and development, new policies and their implementation magnified the challenges of taking a children’s rights approach in adult-oriented systems and institutions. This article explores these challenges, drawing on learning from the independent Children’s Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) on policies affecting children in Scotland during ‘lockdown’ in spring 2020. The article uses concepts from childhood studies and legal philosophy to highlight issues for children’s human rights, in such areas as children in conflict with the law, domestic abuse, poverty and digital exclusion. The analysis uncovers how persistent constructions of children as vulnerable and best protected in their families led to systematic disadvantages for certain groups of children and failed to address all of children’s human rights to protection, provision and participation. The independent CRIA illuminates gaps in rights’ accountability, such as the lack of children’s rights indicators and disaggregated data, children’s inadequate access to complaints and justice, and the need for improved information to and participation of children.
HRB Open Research, 2021
Background: We are currently in a period of transition, from the pre-COVID-19 (coronavirus diseas... more Background: We are currently in a period of transition, from the pre-COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) era and the initial reactive lockdowns, to now the ongoing living with and potentially the after COVID-19 period. Each country is at its own individual stage of this transition, but many have gone through a period of feeling adrift; disconnected from normal lives, habits and routines, finding oneself betwixt and between stages, similar to that of liminality. Children and young people have been particularly affected. Aim: To increase the understanding of home and community-based strategies that contribute to children and young people’s capacity to adjust to societal changes, both during and after pandemics. Moreover, to identify ways in which children’s actions contribute to the capacity of others to adjust to the changes arising from the pandemic. The potential for these activities to influence and contribute to broader social mobilisation will be examined and promoted. Research design: To achieve the aim of this study, a participatory health research approach will be taken. The overarching theoretical framework of the COVISION study is that of liminality. The study design includes four work packages: two syntheses of literature (a rapid realist review and scoping review) to gain an overview of the emerging international context of evidence of psychosocial mitigations and community resilience in pandemics, and more specifically COVID-19; qualitative exploration of children and young people’s perspective of COVID-19 via creative outlets and reflections; and participatory learning and action through co-production.
Global Studies of Childhood, 2019
This is an editorial introducing the special journal issue.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 09687599466780011, Feb 23, 2007
ABSTRACT
International Journal of Human Rights, 2018
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most ratified human rights convention in the ... more The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most ratified human rights convention in the world. There has been considerable progress in incorporating these rights into domestic law, regional and local policies. However, cross-national research continues to show gaps in implementing and realising these rights. This article draws on theoretical developments on policy networks and Contribution Analysis (CA) – a theory-based model used to monitor and evaluate programmes – to evaluate recent developments in children rights advocacy in Scotland. With the official national commitment to ‘making rights real’, Scotland is a fertile test case to examine what strategies are likely – or not likely – to result in embedding children’s rights legally and practically in their lives. The article concludes that successful advocacy needs to consider which key actors are included or excluded from networks, to anticipate disruption and strategise accordingly, and to recognise the key role of ‘network managers’. CA adds attention to how policy is made and the benefits of collectively identifying a theory of change that can be monitored, modified and improved. Collaboration, dialogue and trust can ensure such a theory of change is ultimately successful: these require both attention to relationships as well as evidence.
Journal of Media Literacy Education, 2020
Given the importance of data skills to the economy and the skills shortage within data science, e... more Given the importance of data skills to the economy and the skills shortage within data science, educational policy makers have identified the importance of including technical and analytical data skills in the school curriculum. An equally important aim is to educate children and young people to become data citizens who are aware of the current uses of data in society, able to use data to make decisions in their lives, and are actively engaged in critiquing the societal implications of future uses of data. The paper will explore the meanings of data citizenship, in light of the findings of a consultation with 96 children and young people (aged between 10 and 16 years old), from 11 schools in South East Scotland and the wider conceptual debates on citizenship and children and young people’s rights to privacy, participation, and education.
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 2021
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has now been in place for over thirty years ... more The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has now been in place for over thirty years and is widely ratified. However, as the UNCRC is operationalised, a number of practical, conceptual and ethical issues have emerged . For example, questions arise concerning children’s capacity and competence to make autonomous decisions, their involvement in dispute resolution and the relationship between the rights of children and those of their parents. Particular challenges arise in realising the rights of younger children and those with significant disabilities. The papers in this special edition explore these issues in relation to the UK and the wider international context, and also in different fields of social policy.
A Handbook of Children and Young People’s Participation, 2023
This is a book chapter. Houghton, C., Mazur, J., Kansour-Sinclair, L. and Tisdall, E.K.M. (2023... more This is a book chapter.
Houghton, C., Mazur, J., Kansour-Sinclair, L. and Tisdall, E.K.M. (2023) ‘Being a young political actor’, in Twum-Danso Imoh, A., Thomas, N.P., O’Kane, C., and Percy-Smith, B. (eds) A Handbook of Children and Young People’s Participation, London: Routledge, pp. 222-229.
Children's Geographies, 2023
Mary Ann Powell, Sukanya Krishnamurthy, Loritta Chan, E. Kay M. Tisdall, Irene Rizzini & Roshni K... more Mary Ann Powell, Sukanya Krishnamurthy, Loritta Chan, E. Kay M. Tisdall, Irene Rizzini & Roshni K. Nuggehalli (2023) Reimagining institutional ethics procedures in research partnerships with young people across Majority/Minority World contexts, Children's Geographies, DOI: 10.1080/14733285.2023.2237923
This is an open access article.
While institutional ethics are crucial, their application on the ground often creates tensions with what is considered ‘ethical'. This paper reflects on the dissonances between formal institutional ethics and community-based research. The focus is on a project involving young people from India and Brazil, where they actively contributed as co-researchers and advisors. The project's international collaboration encompassed partners from Majority and Minority World contexts, including universities, community organizations, and government bodies. The project, initially planned before the Covid-19 pandemic but implemented during it, necessitated adjustments to its methodology. This paper examines the role of institutional ethic procedures in light of power imbalances and tensions within three areas: (1) research co-production with young people, (2) collaborative cross-country research with partners, and (3) the relevance of ethical guidelines in diverse research contexts. We raise concerns about the top-down nature of these procedures and emphasise the significance of reflexivity, conversations, and relationships in ethical considerations. With growing research in the Majority world (funded by the Minority world), there is an urgent need to recognise and build on the expertise of experienced local civic society organisations in ethical research and safeguarding, to work in genuine, respectful partnership with those we do research with.
Children & Society, 2023
Authors: Sukanya Krishnamurthy, Loritta Chan, Mary Ann Powell, E. Kay M. Tisdall, Irene Rizzini, ... more Authors: Sukanya Krishnamurthy, Loritta Chan, Mary Ann Powell, E. Kay M. Tisdall, Irene Rizzini, Roshni K. Nuggehalli, Alicia Tauro, Bharath Palavalli
This is an open access article https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12802
This paper explores how research advisory groups can be a vehicle for youth activism. It draws on our experiences with young activists, aged 15–26 years, in India and Brazil, who were advisors on a research project focused on youth livelihoods in cities. These young people played a vital role in supporting youth researchers, identifying research themes and developing engagement and advocacy strategies. Through this paper, we explore how the Youth Expert Group advisory model evolved differently in each location and examine how these were shaped by the context, the ‘adult’ research team and the youth activists themselves. A critically reflexive response in intergenerational partnership is essential to support youth activists in research activities.
The International Journal of Human Rights, 2019
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the most ratified international human rig... more The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the most ratified international human rights treaty. Yet problems continue about ensuring that children's rights are recognised and supported in their daily lives. To this end, informal and formal efforts have been made for greater incorporation of the UNCRC into national law and policies. This special journal issue learns from these latest efforts, for the benefit of all human rights advocates in policy, practice and academia. The editorial outlines the contributions from eight articles, which were written by young people, practitioners who are directly influencing policy and practice, and academics from across the UK, Canada and Ireland with both national and international expertise. Written from different disciplines (including law, public policy and education), the special journal issue aims to enhance the critical evidence and strategic approach to implementing human rights in practice.
The International Journal of Human Rights, 2019
Andressa Gadda has worked as a researcher in the field of child care and protection for over 10 y... more Andressa Gadda has worked as a researcher in the field of child care and protection for over 10 years. Most recently she was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Child Wellbeing and Protection (CCWP) at the University of Stirling. She is currently the Head of Policy and Research at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI). Juliet Harris is the Director of Together (Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights) and leads the organisation in promoting and monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) across Scotland. This includes working with Together's membership of over 380 children's organisations and professionals to produce an annual State of Children's Rights report, as well as liaising with government and parliamentarians to further children's rights in legislation, policy and practice. Juliet's previous experience includes six years tackling the destitution and poverty of refugees and asylum seekers, alongside a number of roles with charities working in the field of health and homelessness.
The International Journal of Human Rights, 2022
This is an open access article. Policy responses to COVID-19 have had dramatic impacts on childre... more This is an open access article. Policy responses to COVID-19 have had dramatic impacts on children’s human rights, as much as the COVID-19 pandemic itself. In the rush to protect the human right of survival and development, new policies and their implementation magnified the challenges of taking a children’s rights approach in adult-oriented systems and institutions. This article explores these challenges, drawing on learning from the independent Children’s Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) on policies affecting children in Scotland during ‘lockdown’ in spring 2020. The article uses concepts from childhood studies and legal philosophy to highlight issues for children’s human rights, in such areas as children in conflict with the law, domestic abuse, poverty and digital exclusion. The analysis uncovers how persistent constructions of children as vulnerable and best protected in their families led to systematic disadvantages for certain groups of children and failed to address all of children’s human rights to protection, provision and participation. The independent CRIA illuminates gaps in rights’ accountability, such as the lack of children’s rights indicators and disaggregated data, children’s inadequate access to complaints and justice, and the need for improved information to and participation of children.
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 2021
Despite the widespread ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ... more Despite the widespread ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children continue to struggle to have their participation rights recognised and supported. This is evident within family law, where despite sometimes progressive and strong legislation, children's views are often not heard nor given due weight, when parent-child contact is contested within the courts. This paper explores barriers to children's participation rights being realised. It uses Scotland as the example, due to its strong legal safeguards and mechanisms that aim to support participation rights. The paper draws on recent empirical research with legal professionals, combined with an analysis of reported case law and relevant literature, to explore the barriers 'on the ground' for children's participation rights. Through our analysis, we offer new ways to conceptualise the notion of influence in children's participation rights in family actions. We offer the conceptual devices of 'the influenced child' and 'the influential child' to elucidate how children's participation rights are restricted.
Family Court Review, 2020
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has catalysed numerous jurisdictions to ... more The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has catalysed numerous jurisdictions to introduce new legal provisions to support children's participation rights when child contact is contested. Despite this, children's participation is frequently limited in practice, especially in contexts where children are perceived as vulnerable to a parent's manipulation, even if there are allegations of domestic abuse. While "resist and refusal dynamics" have yet to become mainstream terms in Scottish family law, "manipulation" has become a common concern in cases of contested contact. Drawing on a Scottish empirical study on contested child contact in circumstances of domestic abuse, we interrogate the implications that the concept of manipulation has for children's participation rights. The study involved separate in-depth interviews with 18 children and their 16 mothers. Findings point to concerns about upholding children's participation rights, particularly in cases where children were depicted as "influenced" or "manipulated." Through our analysis, we disentangle the problems professionals have when concerns about child manipulation and domestic abuse intersect. We argue that, when combined, allegations of manipulation and domestic abuse present a significant and serious risk to children's participation rights. We find the legal construction of the child's views as separate from the parental dispute to have unintended and serious consequences for children's participation rights. We offer ways in which law and practice may evolve to ensure children's participation rights in these contexts are both implemented and upheld.
This article draws on child activists' experiences in Bangladesh and Ghana, who mobilised to stop... more This article draws on child activists' experiences in Bangladesh and Ghana, who mobilised to stop potential child marriages from their respective Child Forums and Children's Parliaments. Case studies were undertaken with 75 child activists, 10 girls whose child marriages had been stopped, and 22 adult stakeholders. The children's activism disrupted intergenerational relations-unsettling adults' attitudes towards children-and depended on such relationschildren were successful in stopping child marriages because they drew on critical social capital and mobilised key stakeholders. Children's activism thus has lessons for children's participation literature more generally, in the synergies between children's mobilisation and intergenerational relations.
Theory of Change Making Children's Rights Real in Scotland, 2022
Theory of Change for Making Children's Rights Real in Scotland, 2022
Summary. Since the Scottish Parliament unanimously passed the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland)... more Summary.
Since the Scottish Parliament unanimously passed the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill in a landmark vote in March 2021, many people and organisations in Scotland have been considering how best to implement the Bill and ensure children’s human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled.
To support this transformative change, the Observatory of Children’s Human Rights Scotland, 'Matter of Focus' and 'Public Health Scotland' were awarded a grant by the Scottish Government, to lead a collaborative effort to develop a Theory of Change for the process of UNCRC implementation in Scotland between November 2021 and March 2022.
Authors are: Helen Berry, Jennifer Davidson, Eloise di Gianni, Sarah Morton, Deborah Wason and Kay Tisdall
The International Journal of Human Rights, 2022
This is an open access article. Policy responses to COVID-19 have illuminated how children and yo... more This is an open access article. Policy responses to COVID-19 have illuminated how children and young people’s human rights were all too often side-lined by adult concerns. With mounting queries during the first ‘lockdown’ in Scotland (March 2020), the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland asked the Observatory of Children’s Human Rights Scotland to undertake an independent Children’s Rights Impact Assessment of COVID-19 emergency public health measures on children and young people in Scotland. The resulting analysis proved not only productive for immediate policy advocacy but had broader lessons about how states parties can respect, protect and fulfil children and young people’s human rights at times of crisis and disaster. This requires challenging adult approaches and orientations to policy, so all of children and young people’s rights to provision, protection and participation are met, especially groups of children and young people who may be at particular risk of rights’ violations. This editorial outlines the process and substantive learning from the independent CRIA, from a range of experts, including children and young people.
International Journal of Human Rights, 2022
This is an open access article. Policy responses to COVID-19 have had dramatic impacts on childre... more This is an open access article. Policy responses to COVID-19 have had dramatic impacts on children’s human rights, as much as the COVID-19 pandemic itself. In the rush to protect the human right of survival and development, new policies and their implementation magnified the challenges of taking a children’s rights approach in adult-oriented systems and institutions. This article explores these challenges, drawing on learning from the independent Children’s Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) on policies affecting children in Scotland during ‘lockdown’ in spring 2020. The article uses concepts from childhood studies and legal philosophy to highlight issues for children’s human rights, in such areas as children in conflict with the law, domestic abuse, poverty and digital exclusion. The analysis uncovers how persistent constructions of children as vulnerable and best protected in their families led to systematic disadvantages for certain groups of children and failed to address all of children’s human rights to protection, provision and participation. The independent CRIA illuminates gaps in rights’ accountability, such as the lack of children’s rights indicators and disaggregated data, children’s inadequate access to complaints and justice, and the need for improved information to and participation of children.
HRB Open Research, 2021
Background: We are currently in a period of transition, from the pre-COVID-19 (coronavirus diseas... more Background: We are currently in a period of transition, from the pre-COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) era and the initial reactive lockdowns, to now the ongoing living with and potentially the after COVID-19 period. Each country is at its own individual stage of this transition, but many have gone through a period of feeling adrift; disconnected from normal lives, habits and routines, finding oneself betwixt and between stages, similar to that of liminality. Children and young people have been particularly affected. Aim: To increase the understanding of home and community-based strategies that contribute to children and young people’s capacity to adjust to societal changes, both during and after pandemics. Moreover, to identify ways in which children’s actions contribute to the capacity of others to adjust to the changes arising from the pandemic. The potential for these activities to influence and contribute to broader social mobilisation will be examined and promoted. Research design: To achieve the aim of this study, a participatory health research approach will be taken. The overarching theoretical framework of the COVISION study is that of liminality. The study design includes four work packages: two syntheses of literature (a rapid realist review and scoping review) to gain an overview of the emerging international context of evidence of psychosocial mitigations and community resilience in pandemics, and more specifically COVID-19; qualitative exploration of children and young people’s perspective of COVID-19 via creative outlets and reflections; and participatory learning and action through co-production.
Global Studies of Childhood, 2019
This is an editorial introducing the special journal issue.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 09687599466780011, Feb 23, 2007
ABSTRACT
International Journal of Human Rights, 2018
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most ratified human rights convention in the ... more The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most ratified human rights convention in the world. There has been considerable progress in incorporating these rights into domestic law, regional and local policies. However, cross-national research continues to show gaps in implementing and realising these rights. This article draws on theoretical developments on policy networks and Contribution Analysis (CA) – a theory-based model used to monitor and evaluate programmes – to evaluate recent developments in children rights advocacy in Scotland. With the official national commitment to ‘making rights real’, Scotland is a fertile test case to examine what strategies are likely – or not likely – to result in embedding children’s rights legally and practically in their lives. The article concludes that successful advocacy needs to consider which key actors are included or excluded from networks, to anticipate disruption and strategise accordingly, and to recognise the key role of ‘network managers’. CA adds attention to how policy is made and the benefits of collectively identifying a theory of change that can be monitored, modified and improved. Collaboration, dialogue and trust can ensure such a theory of change is ultimately successful: these require both attention to relationships as well as evidence.
Journal of Media Literacy Education, 2020
Given the importance of data skills to the economy and the skills shortage within data science, e... more Given the importance of data skills to the economy and the skills shortage within data science, educational policy makers have identified the importance of including technical and analytical data skills in the school curriculum. An equally important aim is to educate children and young people to become data citizens who are aware of the current uses of data in society, able to use data to make decisions in their lives, and are actively engaged in critiquing the societal implications of future uses of data. The paper will explore the meanings of data citizenship, in light of the findings of a consultation with 96 children and young people (aged between 10 and 16 years old), from 11 schools in South East Scotland and the wider conceptual debates on citizenship and children and young people’s rights to privacy, participation, and education.
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 2021
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has now been in place for over thirty years ... more The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has now been in place for over thirty years and is widely ratified. However, as the UNCRC is operationalised, a number of practical, conceptual and ethical issues have emerged . For example, questions arise concerning children’s capacity and competence to make autonomous decisions, their involvement in dispute resolution and the relationship between the rights of children and those of their parents. Particular challenges arise in realising the rights of younger children and those with significant disabilities. The papers in this special edition explore these issues in relation to the UK and the wider international context, and also in different fields of social policy.
Critical Childhood Studies, 2023
The book provides an advanced, accessible text for childhood studies, which is suitable and chall... more The book provides an advanced, accessible text for childhood studies, which is suitable and challenging for those coming from practice, different parts of the world and from a range of disciplines. Key ideas within childhood studies are introduced, from agency to intersectionality to children's rights. Addressing children and young people under the age of 18, the book combines concepts from seminal texts with challenging, critical views and alternatives, to stimulate readers to develop their own analysis and apply the results to their own interests. It reveals how childhood studies draws on a rich and diverse range of perspectives from child development, educational studies, history, human rights, media studies, philosophy, public health, race and ethnicity studies, to social anthropology.
Tisdall, E.K.M., Davis, J.M., Fry, D., Konstantoni, K., Kustatscher, M., Maternowska, M.C. and Weiner, L. (2023) Critical Childhood Studies: Global Perspectives. London: Bloomsbury.
Young People's Participation: Revisiting Youth and Inequalities in Europe, 2021
Young people’s participation is an urgent policy and practice concern, across countries and conte... more Young people’s participation is an urgent policy and practice concern, across countries and context. This book showcases original research evidence and analysis to consider how, under what conditions and for what purposes young people participate in different parts of Europe. Focusing on the interplay between the concepts of youth, inequality and participation, this book explores how structural changes, including economic austerity, neoliberal policies and new patterns of migration, affect the conditions of young people’s participation and its aims. With contributions from a range of subject experts, including young people themselves, the book challenges current policies and practices on young people’s participation. It asks how young people can be better supported to take part in social change and decision-making and what can be learnt from young people’s own initiatives.
Participation has become a rallying cry for those committed to respecting children and young peop... more Participation has become a rallying cry for those committed to respecting children and young people as social actors in their own right, as a part of communities and societies. Yet children and young people's participation has faced considerable challenges in realizing the rhetoric, with concerns being raised that too much emphasis has been placed on the process of participation and too little emphasis on its broader aim.
This book brings together theories, ideas, insights and experiences of practitioners and researchers from Brazil, India, South Africa and the UK on the theme of children and young people's involvement in public action. It explores the potential of children and young people's participation to be transformative and to challenge social and cultural structures that reproduce inequality and oppression. This book will be particularly appealing to those interested in children's rights, childhood and youth studies, and development studies.