Listening to Children: rights, participation and voices of children in research and politics, 7.5 credits

Entry requirements

Entry requirement for studies on third-cycle education courses:

• second-cycle degree,
• 240 credits in required courses, including at least 60 second-cycle credits, or
• acquisition of equivalent knowledge in some other manner

Specific information

The course is a mandatory element of the PhD-training program at Child Studies, Linköping University.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the students will be able to:

• account for basic philosophical assumptions in theories of communication, specifically listening;
• account for basic theoretical perspectives in research on children's and young people's rights, participation and voice in political processes;
• describe and analyze theoretical perspectives on children's rights in relation to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other policy documents on children's rights;
• describe and discuss scientific methods in research that are based on children's participation, voices and perspectives;
• critically review and evaluate research findings based on children's participation, voices and perspectives

Contents

Today, the listening to children and youth has gained significant currency in research and politics. Child participatory methods, surveys for young people, and the collecting of narratives focusing on children’s voices are increasingly used to address societal problems and to provide legitimacy to political solutions. In the wake of a growing scholarly production in childhood studies and a global diffusion of children’s rights norms, the centering of young people’s voices have become a key strategy to guarantee participation and to improve matters of young people’s concern in various domains of society. Yet, at the same time, the emphasis on listening, participation and voice has become an integrated part of new forms of governance to control and regulate children and youth.

This course contains elements that aim to convey methodological and theoretical tools for a critical analysis of how children and young people's rights, participation and voices are used in research and politics of today. Furthermore, current research on the implementation of children's and young people's rights is addressed more specifically in relation to spheres like health care, migration, climate, education, and social services. The course engages critically with how child specific methodologies, like for instance child interviews and participatory observations, are designed to capture children's experiences and voices. Child methodologies will also be situated in a broader historical development of children and childhood research during the twentieth century to present day. The PhD candidates are encouraged to make use of their own research projects to engage with the key elements of the course.

Educational methods

The course extends over a five week-period, of which four are on-line and one week is campus-based, at Child Studies, Campus Valla, Linköping. The campus-based week in Linköping takes place on the second week of a five week course period.

Educational methods

Online lectures and seminars, combined with intensive teaching during a campus-based week (lecturs, seminars, group-work).

Examination

The course examination contains both a written and an oral part which must be completed for passing the course. The PhD students are expected to hand in a written assignment in the last week of the course. The assignments will be presented and discussed at a final examining seminar which will be structured accordingly. Attendance at the seminar is mandatory for the PhD students to be approved. After the seminar, submitted written texts will be assessed (pass/fail). Absence from the seminar requires a supplementary task to be added to the written examination assignment.

Students who have not achieved a passing result are offered an opportunity for re-examination in connection with the course and on two later occasions during the following year. The re-examination requires a supplementary task to be added to the written examination paper, to compensate for non-attendance at the examining seminar.

Change of examiner

Students who have failed the course or part of the course twice are entitled to request another examiner for the following examination occasion.

Grading

Course literature

Example: A list of recommended literature will be provided by the course coordinator before the start of the course.

General information

Course certificate

On the student’s request, course certificate is issued by the course examiner.

If the course is withdrawn or is subject to major changes, examination according to this syllabus is normally offered at three occasions within/in close connection to the two following semesters.