Establishing Child Centred Practice in a Changing World, Part A

At a time of significant local, national and international change, in which children are already actively involved, it seems not only right but necessary that we should be seeking to further our knowledge and understanding of what informs and shapes meaningful and effective practice for and with children.

Such research has implications across the spaces that children and adults share whether that is at school, at home, in the law courts, in health care through to local, national and international platforms for social action. Establishing Child Centred Practice in a Changing World, Part A draws on contributions from around the world, as it highlights the possibilities for a more focused series of studies in this area, deepening the understanding of what informs effective practice with children, through demanding a greater applied awareness of terms such as voice, collaboration and change.

It reflects on the realities of the dynamic global context and the way in which this is affecting children’s experiences at a national and local level.

It demands a consideration of the way in which children are represented in society and the extent to which that impacts on the design of practices for children.

However, as well as reflecting on the constraints that traditional images of the child hold, this work also highlights the opportunities that are created when practices are designed with children.