Children’s Well-Being: Indicators and Research – serie

This volume presents key findings from the EU funded Measuring Youth Well-being (MYWeB) project which assessed the feasibility of a European Longitudinal Study for Children and Young People (ELSCYP). It draws on the original empirical data from a panel of experts in the field of child well-being as well as field experiences from a number of European countries.  MYWeB explored strategies and methodological challenges for involving children and young people in well-being research in order to fight poverty and social exclusion. It does so by evaluating different options to measure the well-being of children and young people across Europe using a child centric approach.Written by experts researching children and young people from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds in the areas of sociology, psychology, political science, education, philosophy, economics, social policy, and evaluation.

This book presents an analysis of the impact of the social crisis on the well-being of children and adolescents in Europe. Focusing on the fields of health, employment and social status, this book highlights that the impact of crisis has to be viewed in light of the state policies in reaction to crisis. Chapters in the book offer new perspectives of a reflexive crisis research objectifying crisis and analyzing what is referred to as crisis by whom, how, for what purposes and with which implicit or explicit solutions. This book offers empirical evidence and unique analytical approaches in the field of a child- and adolescent-oriented crisis research.

This book presents an analysis of the impact of the social crisis on the well-being of children and adolescents in Europe. Focusing on the fields of health, employment and social status, this book highlights that the impact of crisis has to be viewed in light of the state policies in reaction to crisis. Chapters in the book offer new perspectives of a reflexive crisis research objectifying crisis and analyzing what is referred to as crisis by whom, how, for what purposes and with which implicit or explicit solutions. This book offers empirical evidence and unique analytical approaches in the field of a child- and adolescent-oriented crisis research.

This book provides new insights on the lives of children in street situations by providing analyses from a qualitative perspective on the sociology of childhood. It proposes some insightful perspectives on the current discussion about the rights of children in street situations. It includes a unique selection of texts, which were initially published in French, written by the authors of this volume, on the lives of children in street situations in Latin America and China, that are now available to an English readership. It challenges obstacles, linked to macrosocial issues such as inequalities, images of the child, the separation of public/private spheres, urban dynamics and structural adjustments, as well as to microsocial dimensions such as identity, motivation, and activities that are constitutive of street situations. The book discusses the situations experienced by children, highlighting children’s reflexivity and strategies as social factors, and shedding new light on the debate “agency within structure”.

This book provides new insights on the lives of children in street situations by providing analyses from a qualitative perspective on the sociology of childhood. It proposes some insightful perspectives on the current discussion about the rights of children in street situations. It includes a unique selection of texts, which were initially published in French, written by the authors of this volume, on the lives of children in street situations in Latin America and China, that are now available to an English readership. It challenges obstacles, linked to macrosocial issues such as inequalities, images of the child, the separation of public/private spheres, urban dynamics and structural adjustments, as well as to microsocial dimensions such as identity, motivation, and activities that are constitutive of street situations. The book discusses the situations experienced by children, highlighting children’s reflexivity and strategies as social factors, and shedding new light on the debate “agency within structure”.

This book draws together for the first time some of the most important international policy practice and research relating to education in out-of-home care. It addresses the knowledge gap around how good learning experiences can enrich and add enjoyment to the lives of children and young people as they grow and develop. Through its ecological-development lens it focuses sharply on the experience of learning from early childhood to tertiary education. It offers empirical insights and best practices examples of learning and caregiving contexts with children and young people in formal learning settings, at home and in the community. This book is highly relevant for education and training programs in pedagogy, psychology, social work, youth work, residential care, foster care and kinship care along with early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary education courses.

This book draws together for the first time some of the most important international policy practice and research relating to education in out-of-home care. It addresses the knowledge gap around how good learning experiences can enrich and add enjoyment to the lives of children and young people as they grow and develop. Through its ecological-development lens it focuses sharply on the experience of learning from early childhood to tertiary education. It offers empirical insights and best practices examples of learning and caregiving contexts with children and young people in formal learning settings, at home and in the community. This book is highly relevant for education and training programs in pedagogy, psychology, social work, youth work, residential care, foster care and kinship care along with early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary education courses.

This volume focuses on very young children’s (aged 0-8) rights in a digital world. It gathers current research from around the globe that focuses on young children’s rights as agental citizens to the provision of and participation in digital devices and content—as well as their right to protection from harm. The UN Digital Rights Framework of 2014 addresses children’s needs, agency and vulnerability to harm in today’s digital world and implies roles and responsibilities for a variety of social actors including the state, families, schools, commercial entities, researchers and children themselves. This volume presents a broad range of research, including chapters on parental supervision and control, the changing forms of play, early childhood education, media and cultural studies, law, design, health, special-needs education, and engineering. Implicit within this book is the acknowledgement that children of various ages, abilities, socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds should haveequal access to, and positive / non-harmful experiences with, new digital technologies and content—as well as adult support and expertise that enhances these experiences.This passionate book celebrates the diversity of young children’s activities in the digital world.  It interrogates these through four intersecting lenses: their rights, play experiences, contextualised design, and best practice. Balancing children’s eager engagement with digital content alongside adult responsibilities for education, privacy and protection, the volume provides a fitting showcase for work of global relevance.Professor Lelia GreenProfessor of CommunicationsEdith Cowan UniversityPerth, Western AustraliaThis compelling text provides a critical resource to inform our understanding of the intersection of the digital world and children’s rights.Ilene R. Berson, Ph.D.Professor of Early Childhood EducationAffiliate Faculty, Learning Design & TechnologyArea Coordinator, Early ChildhoodCoordinator, Early Childhood Ph.D. ProgramUniversity of South FloridaCollege of EducationA truly international collection that investigates young children’s engagement with digital technologies. Identifying issues of public interest around digital practices, this highly readable book is a valuable resource for researchers, parents and policy makers.Professor Susan DanbyDirector, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child  and,Faculty of EducationSchool of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education                                                                    QUTKelvin Grove, Queensland

This volume focuses on very young children’s (aged 0-8) rights in a digital world. It gathers current research from around the globe that focuses on young children’s rights as agental citizens to the provision of and participation in digital devices and content—as well as their right to protection from harm. The UN Digital Rights Framework of 2014 addresses children’s needs, agency and vulnerability to harm in today’s digital world and implies roles and responsibilities for a variety of social actors including the state, families, schools, commercial entities, researchers and children themselves. This volume presents a broad range of research, including chapters on parental supervision and control, the changing forms of play, early childhood education, media and cultural studies, law, design, health, special-needs education, and engineering. Implicit within this book is the acknowledgement that children of various ages, abilities, socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds should haveequal access to, and positive / non-harmful experiences with, new digital technologies and content—as well as adult support and expertise that enhances these experiences.This passionate book celebrates the diversity of young children’s activities in the digital world.  It interrogates these through four intersecting lenses: their rights, play experiences, contextualised design, and best practice. Balancing children’s eager engagement with digital content alongside adult responsibilities for education, privacy and protection, the volume provides a fitting showcase for work of global relevance.Professor Lelia GreenProfessor of CommunicationsEdith Cowan UniversityPerth, Western AustraliaThis compelling text provides a critical resource to inform our understanding of the intersection of the digital world and children’s rights.Ilene R. Berson, Ph.D.Professor of Early Childhood EducationAffiliate Faculty, Learning Design & TechnologyArea Coordinator, Early ChildhoodCoordinator, Early Childhood Ph.D. ProgramUniversity of South FloridaCollege of EducationA truly international collection that investigates young children’s engagement with digital technologies. Identifying issues of public interest around digital practices, this highly readable book is a valuable resource for researchers, parents and policy makers.Professor Susan DanbyDirector, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child  and,Faculty of EducationSchool of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education                                                                    QUTKelvin Grove, Queensland

This book presents a range of innovative analytical frameworks that can be used to approach the complexities of children’s understandings and experiences of well-being in a locally oriented, context-sensitive and multi-nationally comparative way. It addresses the challenges of undertaking research on children’s understandings of well-being from a multi-national qualitative perspective. Chapters in the book present results that show how children from various places all over the world conceptualize and experience well-being as well as how this is linked local, regional and national social, political and cultural contexts.

This book presents a range of innovative analytical frameworks that can be used to approach the complexities of children’s understandings and experiences of well-being in a locally oriented, context-sensitive and multi-nationally comparative way. It addresses the challenges of undertaking research on children’s understandings of well-being from a multi-national qualitative perspective. Chapters in the book present results that show how children from various places all over the world conceptualize and experience well-being as well as how this is linked local, regional and national social, political and cultural contexts.

This open access book presents a discussion on human rights-based attributes for each article pertinent to the substantive rights of children, as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It provides the reader with a unique and clear overview of the scope and core content of the articles, together with an analysis of the latest jurisprudence of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. For each article of the UNCRC, the authors explore the nature and scope of corresponding State obligations, and identify the main features that need to be taken into consideration when assessing a State’s progressive implementation of the UNCRC. This analysis considers which aspects of a given right are most important to track, in order to monitor States' implementation of any given right, and whether there is any resultant change in the lives of children. This approach transforms the narrative of legal international standards concerning a given right into a set of characteristics that ensure no aspect of said right is overlooked. The book develops a clear and comprehensive understanding of the UNCRC that can be used as an introduction to the rights and principles it contains, and to identify directions for future policy and strategy development in compliance with the UNCRC. As such, it offers an invaluable reference guide for researchers and students in the field of childhood and children’s rights studies, as well as a wide range of professionals and organisations concerned with the subject.

This open access book presents a discussion on human rights-based attributes for each article pertinent to the substantive rights of children, as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It provides the reader with a unique and clear overview of the scope and core content of the articles, together with an analysis of the latest jurisprudence of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. For each article of the UNCRC, the authors explore the nature and scope of corresponding State obligations, and identify the main features that need to be taken into consideration when assessing a State’s progressive implementation of the UNCRC. This analysis considers which aspects of a given right are most important to track, in order to monitor States' implementation of any given right, and whether there is any resultant change in the lives of children. This approach transforms the narrative of legal international standards concerning a given right into a set of characteristics that ensure no aspect of said right is overlooked. The book develops a clear and comprehensive understanding of the UNCRC that can be used as an introduction to the rights and principles it contains, and to identify directions for future policy and strategy development in compliance with the UNCRC. As such, it offers an invaluable reference guide for researchers and students in the field of childhood and children’s rights studies, as well as a wide range of professionals and organisations concerned with the subject.

This book studies children's wellbeing from the perspective of Ethiopian immigrant families in Israel. It examines how the meeting of cultures within families affects relationships, language acquisition and the transmission of cultural heritage across generations after immigration. The younger generation, born in Israel or having arrived as infants, are faced with a reality very different from their parent’s childhood in Ethiopia. The book therefore addresses these key questions: What are the differences between families that enable some children to adopt a hybrid identity while others feel detached? How are the children affected by their experiences in Israeli society and specifically the educational system? What factors in their childhoods foster resilience and how do these children relate to their Ethiopian heritage? The book presents unique insights into the realities experienced by immigrant families using their own narratives, as it is based oninterviews by the author with 50 members of immigrant families from different generations. It is of special interest to academic courses on wellbeing, family studies, immigrants, diaspora studies, ethnic and religious studies, anthropology, folklore, sociology, gender studies, social work, child psychology and more.

This book studies children's wellbeing from the perspective of Ethiopian immigrant families in Israel. It examines how the meeting of cultures within families affects relationships, language acquisition and the transmission of cultural heritage across generations after immigration. The younger generation, born in Israel or having arrived as infants, are faced with a reality very different from their parent’s childhood in Ethiopia. The book therefore addresses these key questions: What are the differences between families that enable some children to adopt a hybrid identity while others feel detached? How are the children affected by their experiences in Israeli society and specifically the educational system? What factors in their childhoods foster resilience and how do these children relate to their Ethiopian heritage? The book presents unique insights into the realities experienced by immigrant families using their own narratives, as it is based oninterviews by the author with 50 members of immigrant families from different generations. It is of special interest to academic courses on wellbeing, family studies, immigrants, diaspora studies, ethnic and religious studies, anthropology, folklore, sociology, gender studies, social work, child psychology and more.

This book explores child vulnerability in various contexts from a cross-country, comparative perspective. It shows how vulnerability in childhood develops within subjects in relationships with other people (other children, parents, specialists, such as teachers, social workers, and judges), how it is created by welfare, health care, education, and justice systems, and is empowered by multiple crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, wars and natural disasters. The authors hope to enhance dialogue between childhood studies and children’s rights studies through these discussions. The role of children’s agency and autonomy, including their right to participate in decision-making processes related to their own life, has a special emphasis in this book. Importantly, the book discusses ethical considerations and challenges connected to the participation of vulnerable children in research. It also adds insights into domain-based child vulnerability, particularly through participatory action research with extremely vulnerable children with traumatic pasts in Estonian substitute care and Ukrainian children with refugee status in Estonia. The book thereby provides deep insights into the ways to increase child well-being by decreasing vulnerabilities and building resilience. It combines approaches from psychology, sociology, law, educational sciences, social work, and media studies, and is an important resource for academics as well as practitioners and policy-makers working on children's well-being.

This book explores child vulnerability in various contexts from a cross-country, comparative perspective. It shows how vulnerability in childhood develops within subjects in relationships with other people (other children, parents, specialists, such as teachers, social workers, and judges), how it is created by welfare, health care, education, and justice systems, and is empowered by multiple crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, wars and natural disasters. The authors hope to enhance dialogue between childhood studies and children’s rights studies through these discussions. The role of children’s agency and autonomy, including their right to participate in decision-making processes related to their own life, has a special emphasis in this book. Importantly, the book discusses ethical considerations and challenges connected to the participation of vulnerable children in research. It also adds insights into domain-based child vulnerability, particularly through participatory action research with extremely vulnerable children with traumatic pasts in Estonian substitute care and Ukrainian children with refugee status in Estonia. The book thereby provides deep insights into the ways to increase child well-being by decreasing vulnerabilities and building resilience. It combines approaches from psychology, sociology, law, educational sciences, social work, and media studies, and is an important resource for academics as well as practitioners and policy-makers working on children's well-being.

This open access volume provides the first-ever comprehensive framework of indicators to measure progress in the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It analyses the development of thinking in the field of children’s rights on the significance of monitoring, and compiles a set of structural, process and outcome (SPO) aspects of children’s human rights-based indicators, for each article in the Convention. It draws on existing measures wherever possible, and involves wide-ranging consultation with experts in the field, along with 2000 children from 35 countries around the globe. This volume provides guidance on the implementation of children’s rights which will be of value to, among others, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, governments, policy-makers, advocates, and academics. The potential to measure the actions of governments in meeting the obligations they signed up to in the Convention provides an important contribution towards accountability to children. The indicators and associated analysis can serve as both guidance on what needs to happen to ensure the realisation of children’s rights and a benchmark against which to assess the impact of government action.This is an open access book.

The book conducts a comprehensive analysis of codified international legal instruments and documents in their application to children in street situations, employing soft law documents to elucidate treaty interpretation and supplement existing legal standards. The research adopts a holistic approach, correlating international legal instruments with root causes and consequences for children in street situations, while systematically examining issues of intersectionality, such as economic, social, and cultural rights, civil and political rights, minority rights including disability rights, rights of the girl-child, as well as LGBTQI+ and migrant rights, reparations, impact of violence, and access to essential services like health, food, and housing, with various human rights issues, including economic, social, cultural, and civil-political rights. It presents the plight of children in street situations as a human rights concern, offering guidance on utilising international legal sources in rights claims procedures. The study also integrates sociological and political perspectives with legal and governmental policy issues, examining the influence of external factors such as conditional lending and structural adjustment programmes, wars, and decolonisation on social policies and their consequent impact on children and families by rendering children in street situations 'visible' as a distinct category requiring urgent attention in State policy formulation. By systematically integrating international legal instruments with practical policy considerations and applications concerning children in street situations, this scholarly work serves as a comprehensive legal framework for State governments, their bodies and social workers, and a valuable advocacy guide for interest groups including non-governmental organisations, proposing future directions for policy and research for addressing the rights and needs of children in street situations.

The essays in this collection explore the multifaceted crises affecting children in Pakistan, emphasizing the urgent need for intervention. The chapters address a wide range of themes, from the quality of immunization and education to more intricate issues within homes and family settings, such as indoor air pollution, parental smoking and substance use, and child marriages. Broader societal challenges, including the impact of developmental projects, conflicts, and climate change, are also examined.This book aims to offer innovative and evidence-based insights to professionals, researchers, students, and NGOs with an interest in child welfare. It serves as a resource for those looking to prioritize children’s wellbeing in their future research endeavors. By integrating perspectives from diverse social science disciplines into a single volume, the book contributes significantly to the empirical literature on children’s issues in the Pakistani context.

The essays in this collection explore the multifaceted crises affecting children in Pakistan, emphasizing the urgent need for intervention. The chapters address a wide range of themes, from the quality of immunization and education to more intricate issues within homes and family settings, such as indoor air pollution, parental smoking and substance use, and child marriages. Broader societal challenges, including the impact of developmental projects, conflicts, and climate change, are also examined.This book aims to offer innovative and evidence-based insights to professionals, researchers, students, and NGOs with an interest in child welfare. It serves as a resource for those looking to prioritize children’s wellbeing in their future research endeavors. By integrating perspectives from diverse social science disciplines into a single volume, the book contributes significantly to the empirical literature on children’s issues in the Pakistani context.

This open access volume analyses the conditions needed for greater participation of children in social change and development, focusing on Nordic countries. With the idea that citizens of future societies are best placed to envisage their ideal future, and that societies must receive children's trust and participation, the volume looks at existing social, legal, and economic norms, and discusses the various challenges at the institutional and societal levels in involving children. The contributions consider the perspective of children and of other actors in the process. The editors and authors begin with the premise that the lack of a functioning collaboration between children as actors and institutional actors who are supposed to work with/for children can lead to serious consequences, such as a lack of trust in society's representatives and in the legitimacy of legislation. The volume draws empirical evidence and discussion points from cases of children’s participation in family litigation, school regulations and related areas in various Nordic countries. It therefore shows the path to the rest of the world towards a more equitable and just future involving children’s active participation in their and society’s future.

This book brings together a range of theoretical and empirical perspectives on conceptualization, measurement, multidimensional impacts and policy and service responses to address child and family poverty. It illuminates issues and trends through country level chapters, thus shedding light on dynamics of poverty in different jurisdictions. The book is structured into three sections: The first includes introductory chapters canvassing key debates around definition, conceptualization, measurement and theoretical and ideological positions. The second section covers impacts of poverty on specific domains of children’s and families’ experience using snapshots from specific countries/geographic regions. The third section focuses on programs, policies and interventions and addresses poverty and its impacts. It showcases specific interventions, programs and policies aimed at responding to children and families and communities and how they are or might be evaluated. Cross national case studies and evaluations illustrate the diversity of approaches and outcomes.

This work reviews the progress of children’s rights 25 years since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It studies the progress of that human rights instrument as part of an ongoing process. It examines how recent past, present and future generations will benefit or suffer as part of the process in which outcomes cannot be predicted. It does not project into the future. Its emphasis is on a review of the period after 1989 and it comments on what has happened and offering guidance on how children's rights might progress.The book presents a realistic but not always critical review of two and a half decades of intensive activity in the field of children’s rights worldwide. It includes both failures and examples of good practice and positive experiences. It offers a review of progress and lack of progress in child rights and welfare in the twelve countries used as case studies in its predecessor, The Next Generation. Finally, the volume considers the impact of current geopolitical and economic realities on children’s rights in the early years of the twenty-first century. The book is a tribute to Judith Ennew and pays homage to all of the people who have contributed so much to children’s rights over the years and wishes to encourage others to take up the cause.

This book shows the different ways in which migration matters in the context of global and local childhood and youth. Furthermore, it highlights that childhood, youth and migration as well as local and global perspectives need to be thought and analyzed together, to address the significant dimensions of social inequality in the context of growing up.Migration as a phenomenon is most often motivated by the search for a better life. Very often children and young people, migrating alone or together with their families, migrate to ameliorate their own or others’ living conditions and seize opportunities for realizing a good life. Today as well as in the past this search for a better life is very often triggered by socio-economic reasons, war or terrorism.Against the backdrop of the topic raised above the book deals with children and young people’s own perspective in countries of migration. It promotes the idea of connecting global and local issues of childhood and youth with a special focus on questions of education. It studies questions of global and local living and highlights living circumstances shaped by patterns of migration and mobility.

This book examines infant and early childhood mental health and the importance of early emotional and social development for later developmental trajectories. It incorporates research and clinical perspectives and brings research findings to bear in evaluating intervention strategies. By incorporating empirical developmental literature that is directly relevant to infant mental health and clinical practice, the book addresses the multiple forces which shape young children’s mental health. These forces include child factors, parental and familial variables, childrearing practices, and environmental influences. In addition, the book explores parent-child relationships, family networks, and social supports as protective factors, as well as risk factors such as poverty, exposure to violence, and substance abuse, which influence and change developmental processes. It shows that, by examining socio-emotional development in a cultural context, human development in the twenty-first century canbe conceptualized through differences, similarities and diversity perspectives, focusing on the rights of every individual child.

This volume brings together tributes to Judith Ennew’s work and approach based on issues related to children she once referred to as ‘out of place’, that is to say children whose living conditions and ways of life appear far removed from Western images of childhood. It includes contributions on working children, children living on the street, orphans and victims of sexual exploitation. It covers developments and concepts used by Judith Ennew with an emphasis on perspectives of children’s human rights, their participation, cultural sensitivity, research methodology, methods, ethics, monitoring, policy making and programming. In so doing, it brings together material that form a holistic view of not only her way of thinking, but of a policy and programming agenda developed by a number of researchers, academics and activists since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This book brings together a range of theoretical and empirical perspectives on conceptualization, measurement, multidimensional impacts and policy and service responses to address child and family poverty. It illuminates issues and trends through country level chapters, thus shedding light on dynamics of poverty in different jurisdictions. The book is structured into three sections: The first includes introductory chapters canvassing key debates around definition, conceptualization, measurement and theoretical and ideological positions. The second section covers impacts of poverty on specific domains of children’s and families’ experience using snapshots from specific countries/geographic regions. The third section focuses on programs, policies and interventions and addresses poverty and its impacts. It showcases specific interventions, programs and policies aimed at responding to children and families and communities and how they are or might be evaluated. Cross national case studies and evaluations illustrate the diversity of approaches and outcomes.

This work reviews the progress of children’s rights 25 years since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It studies the progress of that human rights instrument as part of an ongoing process. It examines how recent past, present and future generations will benefit or suffer as part of the process in which outcomes cannot be predicted. It does not project into the future. Its emphasis is on a review of the period after 1989 and it comments on what has happened and offering guidance on how children's rights might progress.The book presents a realistic but not always critical review of two and a half decades of intensive activity in the field of children’s rights worldwide. It includes both failures and examples of good practice and positive experiences. It offers a review of progress and lack of progress in child rights and welfare in the twelve countries used as case studies in its predecessor, The Next Generation. Finally, the volume considers the impact of current geopolitical and economic realities on children’s rights in the early years of the twenty-first century. The book is a tribute to Judith Ennew and pays homage to all of the people who have contributed so much to children’s rights over the years and wishes to encourage others to take up the cause.