This Literature Review on best practices and international comparisons for the participation of children aged 6- 12 (Action 5.1.1) is being undertaken as part of broader work including a report on a consultation process on the participation of children under 12 (Action 5.1.2) to deliver the aims of the Comhairle na nÓg Five-Year Development Plan to explore participation structures for children under 12.
The inclusion and active involvement of children in public and civic participation is a critical aspect of fostering a democratic and inclusive society. Children’s right to participate in decisions that impact their lives has received growing recognition since the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The literature suggests that children’s participation is a complex and multifaceted concept, involving various levels of involvement, contexts, and activities (Alanko, 2019). Despite an extensive growth in the literature on all aspects of children and young people’s participation it is notable that children between the ages of 6-12 remain relatively absent from this body of work.
This review focuses on children aged 6-12 years and how they can be included in collective decision-making processes and included in the processes of policy formation through formal and public decision-making participation structures. A previous review for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and Hub na nÓg (Horgan, 2024) examined consultation with children from birth to five years. McCall-Smith (2023) stresses that the distinction between personal and collective decision-making is important in relation to “assessing when the views of a child, either individually or as part of a group, should be sought and how to facilitate this exchange of views” (McCall-Smith, 2023, p.1183).
Although definitions vary, middle childhood is most often understood as the period lasting from 6 – 12 years (Bhana, 2010). Middle childhood is a ‘key transitional childhood period’ (Campbell, 2011). Lancy and Grove (2011) provide ethnographic evidence across a variety of cultures in support of middle childhood as a universal developmental period in which children make a great effort to enter the public arena. Similarly, Jones and Cunningham (2005, p.41) refer to children’s expanding worlds in the period of middle childhood where ‘the child’s independent territorial range expands, accompanied by an increasing ability to interpret the physical and social world and to create new worlds in the imagination’. Peers become more important in children’s lives, and they take a more active role in shaping the nature of their play and activities. Middle childhood is also an important period for developing social and cognitive skills and for children’s emerging self-concept (McNamara et al., 2021). Childhood well-being and happiness studies indicate that the period of middle childhood is where children self-report as being at their happiest (Gavin et al., 2022).
In policy terms, middle childhood is dominated by education (Bessell et al., 2024). It is the institution where children spend most of their time when not at home. Schools, and adults in schools, are centrally important and can have a powerful impact on children during the middle childhood phase. In their work on the multiple contexts of middle childhood, Coll and Szalacha (2004), identify both school and community facilities as the most critical resources in middle childhood. However, the institutionalised nature of childhood means that there are few pathways for children to actively take part in social and civic activities outside of school, and so, ‘we need to reduce the reliance on schools as the dominant or sole institution responsible for supporting children’s participation or providing intergenerational relationships’ (Bessell et al., 2024). The report is organised in the following way: a brief summary of the methodological approach to the literature review, followed by a discussion of the conceptualisation and influences on child participation. The types of formal participatory activity for children under 12 are detailed as well as some innovative international structures and practices, and strategies supporting participation. The report concludes with some recommendations for developing effective and age- appropriate structures for children under 12.
