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Guest Editors: Nadia Auriat, Per Miljeteig, Louise Chawla
Ordering information

Summary

This special issue of PLA Notes, published in October 2001, examines issues surrounding the evaluation of children's participation.

It considers:

• What happens when children have opportunities to play an active role in shaping their communities and the conditions for their own well-being
• How to determine if these initiatives serve the ideals of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
• How to make evaluation itself a partnership between children and adults.

The issue is based on a symposium on 'Children's Participation in Community Settings' held in Oslo, Norway in June 2000, and is guest edited by Louise Chawla of Kentucky State University. It also builds on PLA Notes 25, a previous special issue on children's participation, published in 1996, which focused on ethical concerns, institutional contexts, and participatory techniques.

Editorial

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SPECIAL ISSUE:

Children's Participation - Evaluating Effectiveness

1. Overview- identifying best practices in children's participation

Nadia Auriat, Per Miljeteig and Louise Chawla

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Abstract
This paper describes the background to this special issue on Children's participation, from the Convention on the Rights of the Child to a symposium in Oslo, Norway on 'Children's Participation in Community Settings', where many of the papers in this issue have their foundation.

2. Evaluating children's participation: seeking areas of consensus

Louise Chawla

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Abstract
Participation involving children is no different from other forms of participation- the process should still be evaluated to establish best practices, and questions constantly asked- Who? Why? How? And who for? This paper brings together observations from the Oslo symposium on how this can best be done.

3. How can organisations facilitate children's participation?

Annette Giertsen

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Abstract

Save the Children (Norway) is a strong proponent of the involvement of children in participation. In this paper the author, a representative of the organisation, outlines how this can be done, and draws on two examples from Nicaragua where children have been involved in projects, and the lessons that SCN have learnt from them.

4. Making children's participation in neighbouring settings relevant to the everyday lives of young people

Barry Percy-Smith and Karen Malone

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Abstract

Getting children involved in decision making in their neighbourhood is important to make them and their views feel valued. This paper describes a participation process in Melbourne, Australia, where young people were asked directly what they felt about their local community and how it could be improved, and how this led to improved relations with the local council and residents.

5. Extracts from The Children's Clubs of Nepal: a democratic experiment

Jasmine Rajbhandary, Roger Hart and Chandrika Khatiwada

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Abstract
This paper describes an evaluation of Children's Clubs in Nepal, a countrywide system of children's groups that involve child-to-child training, discussion forums and other activities. How the clubs are structured and their activities are discussed, along with the impacts they have had on personal development and the teaching of new skills.

6. Evaluating the Zimiseleni researchers' project: participatory research as intervention with 'hard-to-reach' boys

Glynis Clacherty and Johanna Kistner

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Abstract
Looking at a project that works with young men at the fringes of criminality in a township in South Africa, this paper describes how encouraging the participants to assess their situation from a collective rather than personal point of view can help engineer changes in outlook and perception at an individual level.

7. 'Do not look down on us': child researchers investigate informal settlements in Zimbabwe

Chris McIvor

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Abstract

This paper documents a participatory research project in two informal settlements around Harare, Zimbabwe, to assess people's real needs to help guide assistance programmes. The project decided to use child researchers to gather information on the lives of children in the settlements, and this paper describes the obstacles and challenges the project faced.

8. Putting child rights and participatory monitoring and evaluation with children into practice: some examples in Indonesia, Nepal and South Africa, and the UK.

Robert Nurick and Vicky Johnson

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Abstract

This paper documents three initiatives the authors have worked on across the spectrum of children's rights and participation; a project in Indonesia to train field staff in assessing children's rights; working with children in South Africa and Nepal to evaluate the impact of development projects; and a scheme in the UK that helps young people set up and run projects in their area.

9. Promoting child-centred community development through participation evaluation

Lalitha Iyer

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Abstract

Project evaluation is a very important part of any development project, but rarely includes the participation of the people affected by the development. This paper highlights the importance of community involvement in the process, and in particular children. Citing examples from a number of different projects, the author also suggests evaluation should begin at the start of any project.

10. The benefits of participatory evaluation for children and youth

Kim Sabo

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Abstract
Involving young people in participatory projects has a profound impact on the projects and on the children involved. This paper looks at four different projects working with children in the USA, and the results and information that was gathered as a result of young peoples participatory evaluation of the programmes.

11. Children's participation in the context of forced migration

Jo Boyden

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Abstract

Carrying out participatory research in refugee camps is extremely difficult for a huge range of reasons, but involving children can be particularly problematical. This paper outlines the reasons for this, but also highlights why it is so important to involve people in the decision making process.

GENERAL SECTION

12. Participatory agroforestry curriculum development - an account of a participatory writing workshop

Peter Taylor and Per Rudebjer

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Abstract

This paper details the preparation and running of a workshop on agroforestry education that sought to teach participatory techniques to lecturers at higher education institutions across South East Asia, so that they could then implement them into their courses. The outcomes of the workshop are documented and reasons why the workshop was so successful.

13. Community participation with the disabled: training in Yemen

Valli Yanni

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Abstract

This paper describes a participatory workshop on gender issues held in Yemen, and, in particular, how disabled groups were able to take part and therefore hopefully managing to give a better cross societal representation.

Tips for Trainers

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Abstract

Methods of introducing workshop participants to participatory techniques, particularly useful for people who hold positions of seniority.

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