Life, Survival and Development
‘Development’ in Article 6 is to be interpreted:
. . . in its broadest sense as a holistic concept, embracing the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral, psychological and social development. Implementation measures should be aimed at achieving the optimal development for all children.
General Comment No. 5
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) reflects a new paradigm of child development where the child is a central social actor in law, policy and practice and helps shape their own developmentFootnote1. This approach focuses on children’s perspectives, experiences, rights and participation. It challenges the traditional and restricted way that child development theory presents universal assumptions of children as ‘fact’; views children as non-competent persons in progress to adulthood; and frequently results in the child’s right to participate becoming subsumed under a set of protection and provision rights. The traditional model for understanding the child provides a measure through which the legal system has commonly come to assess competence, to the detriment of a child’s right to participation.
Child development traditionally refers to psychological theories based on the work of Jean Piaget where the child progresses through age-linked stages to adulthood in the same order and at broadly the same ages as other children. If the child is not meeting the correct developmental stage for their age and falls outside a ‘normal curve’ of this perceived universal childhood the child is viewed as needing professional intervention. This approach can lead to conclusions regarding children generally, but not specific to the child in question.
The child as a potentially active participant within a network of relationships such as family, school, community, and society is central to the CRC. By acknowledging a holistic approach to children, the child takes on a meaningful role in shaping the development of effective policy and practice within the justice system.
It is not sufficient to focus only on those aspects of biological or cognitive development which are individual to the child, but instead the focus is on children’s agency and competence which means:
- Children’s capacity as participants is prioritized
- Action on the child’s protection and provision is based on children’s voices and is more relevant
- There are increased opportunities to engage with children
The key theme of CRC Article 6 can be considered as an inverted triangle which challenges protection and provision dominance by placing participation ahead of them.
Overview of traditional Developmental Approach and the ‘New’ Paradigm Approach Differences
Key themes of a developmental approach |
Key themes of a ‘new’ paradigm approach |
Implications |
Universalism |
Diversity |
The child's experience of the childhood recognized within a cultural context |
Child as ‘becoming’ adult |
Child as human ‘being’ in world now |
Children’s rights become a feature of their present and not of their future (place in society). |
Progress through stages to reach eventual adult competence |
Child as competent meaning maker |
Understandings of the child not based on adult assumption but engagement with the individual child. |
Child as in need of the adult's suppling their protection and provision needs |
Child as participating actor in their own right |
Children are seen as valid contributors in shaping the social world they are part of. |
For more information see Canadian Journal of Children's Rights
International Law
Interpretive Sources
Case Law
Canadian Law
Other Relevant Cases
Special Considerations
Holistic child development is closely linked to child participation which must be meaningful:
- A holistic approach to development brings together developmentalism and the child-centered approach by focusing on children’s agency and competence. In practice this means:
- Prioritizing children’s capacity as participants to generate effective engagement with their rights and the law more widely
- A more relevant course of action on the child’s protection and provision based on children’s voices
- Increased opportunities to engage with children, provided certain themes are recognized
- engage with children in dialogue about the issues that concern them as per CRC Article 12: children’s input is essential
- be aware of the ingrained way in which “developmentalism” has defined the justice system’s thinking on children over considerable time such as how it regards children’s ability to reason
- Meaningful child participation requires clear objectives such as consultation, information and input into decision-making, as well as practices that address challenges of power distribution, and potential miscommunications and misunderstanding about obligations, rights and expectations in the process
- Child participation is an emerging activity and participants must respond to setting-specific factors as well as general standards and guidelines
- In establishing participatory settings, one starting commitment is to try to establish a participatory environment that takes into account how different participants understand participation. Children in particular, given their subordinate structural situation, are likely to have different understandings of responsibility, rights, expectations, relationships, trust, and abuse (among others items) than do adult professionals (who may also have divergent understandings of key notions)
Practice Essentials
- Ethos: children as partners - consider the assumptions you hold about children and how this influences the way children are positioned within the justice system
- Community: place participation ahead of protection and provision and consider where the spaces are within the justice system that provide the child with an opportunity to participate
- Lead: to what extent can you learn from the child and can the child learn from you? This is about acquiring and managing knowledge and creating sustainable measures that link the knowledge to practice
- Speak: establish a shared language for justice practices that children and adults can engage with across the justice system
- Act: take action that supports ‘real’ opportunities where all participants (adults and the child) are partners in a shared project for justice: meaningfully engage with children in a holistic sense
See Frankel and Fowler, 2013.
Resources
- McNamee, Frankel, Pomfret, Birnbaum, Background Paper on Article 6, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Childhood and Social Institutions Program, Dept. of Interdisciplinary Programs, King’s University College at Western, 2016
- Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, “The Voice of the Child in Separation/Divorce Mediation and Other Alternative Dispute Resolution Processes: A Literature Review”, by Rachel Birnbaum, (Ottawa: Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, June 2009) online.
- Susan Clark, “Slow Democracy: Power – Do We Talk About It In Polite Company?” (24 May 2013), Orton Family Foundation (blog), online.
- Plan International, ”Children’s Participation in Decision Making: Why Do It, When To Do It, How To Do I” (15 July 2015) online.
- Alison Clark, “Ways of seeing: using the Mosaic approach to listen to young children's perspectives” in Beyond Listening: Children's perspectives on early childhood services (Bristol: Policy Press, 2005) online.
- Save the Children, " Putting Children at the Centre: A Practical Guide To Children’s Participation” (2010) online.
- Sam Frankel, “Social Learning Pillars” (2015)
- Sam Frankel, Sally McNamee & Alan Pomfret ‘Approaches to promoting ideas about children’s rights and participation: can the education of undergraduate students contribute to raising the visibility of the child in relation to child participation in Canada?’ (2015) 2:1 Canadian Journal of Children’s Rights 26 (online).
- Saul McLeod, “Kohlberg” (2013), SimplyPsychology (blog), online.
- Saul McLeod, “Lev Vygotsky” (2014) SimplyPsychology (blog), online.
- Saul McLeod, “Jean Piaget” (2015) SimplyPsychology (blog).
- UNGA, 27th Special Sess, 6th Plen Mtg, GA Res S-27/2 ‘A world fit for children’ (2002) online.
- UNICEF, “Programming experiences in early child development”(November 2006), online.
- Canada,”A Canada fit for children” (2004), online.