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Learning for Well-being: 5
A Policy Priority for Children and Youth in Europe
Chapter 5: Bringing it all together
CONSULTATION QUESTIONS
How can we best illustrate the multi-dimensional and pro-active approaches?
Are the arguments for the need for all society to contribute sufficiently strong and well-illustrated? What would you modify or add?
Are there missing aspects to the components of child well-being?
Chapter 5: BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
Taking action on learning for well-being: the approach must be multi-dimensional and pro active and include all sectors of society
The goal: All policy arenas contribute to children’s well-being
“Childhood becomes a social space in which children learn to explore their own environment and to experiment with their agency” (James & James, 2004)
a) The need for all of society to contribute
Children learn everywhere: just as health is not created in the health care system so is learning continuously taking place, no matter where children are and what they do. The statement from the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion “health is created in the context of everyday life: where people live, love, work and play” can just as well be applied to learning for well-being. In the publication of OECD Doing Better for Children a range of policies to improve child well-being are reviewed. It echoes the statements from well-being research: “Child well-being encompasses quality of life in a broad sense. It refers to child’s economic conditions, peer relations, political rights, and opportunities to development. Comprehensive interventions for young children and families which improved children’s physical, psychological and social development have shown to be as cost-effective for individuals as for society overall (Eickmann et al., 2003, Watanabe et al., 2005) More?
Many different sectors and stakeholders in society need to work together in order to promote learning for well-being. The family and social networks are as important as is the workplace and as are formal services and policies that provide opportunities and supportive environments. The importance of multidimensional policies has been underlined by many in particular the coordination between and within ministries, as well as at local and regional level need to be enhanced, and gaps bridged between the measures taken at national and international level. (Eurochild, 2010)
Whole of government denotes public service agencies working across portfolio boundaries to achieve a shared goal and an integrated government response to particular issues. Approaches can be formal and informal. They can focus on policy development, program management and service delivery. Australian Public Service Commission 2004
There are many facets of a child’s learning environment, the individual’s personal strategies interface with family and societal systems and values, neighbourhood security, quality and affordability of the health system, institutional practices, provision of basic needs, and economic considerations. Only by taking all of these environments into account, can a child’s ability to develop positively be fully appreciated (Bornstein et al., 2003). It is not just individual behavioural processes that determine child development but also the continuity of adverse environmental factors. (Sameroff, 1998). Children with increased multiple risk factors in their social and family environment predict worse outcomes in cognitive and social-emotional competences than children with less multiple risks (Sameroff et al. 1987). Learning for well-being prioritizes the promotion of factors for positive development. (Bornstein, 2003).
Bonfenbrenner (1977) proposes the ecological model of child development, where development occurs through processes of reciprocal interaction that are progressively more complex between children and all levels of environmental influences. This process is affected by relations a child experiences within and between this settings, informal as well as formal. Risk factors as well as protective factors interact with each other in each domain (Buchanan & Hudson, 2000). Compensatory experiences to a stressful event can also be experienced in another system of the child’s life. Such a protective experience can also compensate some negative effects, when they occur before or after the “risk situation”.
b) Children and youth must be part of the policy process
It’s been suggested that in the second decade of the 21st century, the agency and voice of children and young people will preoccupy agendas in the way that listening and participation did in the first decade (Kellet, 2011). This is crucial to learning for well-being, which is about children and young people being empowered through their learning in diverse environments to be able to make the decisions in their lives that will support themselves in everything they do, in their health, their relations, and the decisions their make about others and the environment.
On the one hand facilitating participation, engagement and therefore agency needs child- and youth-friendly structures. On the other hand they can only work if the shifts in how we think about children, learning, health and education are real – in people’s minds, attitudes and practices. Only in this way can the unique potential of every child be nurtured. The UNCRC sets the baseline.
Article 12
1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.
Implementing this involves a profound and radical reconsideration of the status of children in most societies and the nature of adult/child relationships. It requires us to begin to listen to what children say and to take them seriously. It requires that we recognise the value of their experience, views and concerns. It also requires us to question the nature of adult responsibilities and behaviours towards children. Adults need to learn to work more closely in collaboration with children to help them articulate their lives, shape their learning, develop strategies for change and exercise their rights. The Consolidated Version of the Treaty of the European Union (the ‘Lisbon’ Treaty) has integrated the promotion of the rights of the child, as well as the well-being of all people living in the Union.
“Let’s put the decision-makers in school for a few days to live the normal life of a child.” (Member of the Finnish Children’s Parliament)
Policy formulation must start from a focus on the subjective/personal experience of the child - i.e. how the child experiences all the factors affecting their lives. From this follows the requirement to involve children in the policy process – from formulation to evaluation. Children must be considered as full participants, which means that adults learn to listen to them with curiosity, be responsive and create true partnerships that take account of the inner diversity of functioning and learning of every child and young person.
In recent years this has led to the development of structures, mechanisms and projects to ensure children and young people can have their voices heard in decision-making processes, but also, critically, it has led to more support for youth-led initiatives and organisations and includes supporting children as researchers on their own live, e.g; at EU level there is support for youth-led initiatives through the Youth in Action Programme. As the EU/Council of Europe Youth partnership states, greater understanding of youth is of paramount importance for policy making and should be based on comprehensive knowledge and well-researched understanding of young people's situations, needs and expectations.
EU-CoE Youth Partnership Programme
“Young children are instinctive communicators. Unfortunately, not all adults are instinctive listeners. But if adults working with and for young children are to fulfil their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, listening must become part of their role. Participation enhances children’s self-esteem and confidence, promotes their overall capacities, produces better outcomes, strengthens understanding of and commitment to democratic processes and protects children more effectively. It provides the opportunity for developing a sense of autonomy, independence, heightened social competence and resilience.” (Gerison, 2005)
c) Policies for child well-being: five defining components
Child well-being and respect for children’s rights is a litmus test for a vision of Europe where employment and the economy are at the service of social progress and overall well-being. EUROCHILD
Based on the research undertaken in the last 20 years a significant shift in the understanding of children and of child well-being has taken place. For policy makers committed to improving child well-being five defining components can provide orientation.
Five defining components of child well-being policies
The interdependence of children’s well-being and children’s rights
Child well-being is a condition for as well as a product of human development.
Well-being is a whole child experience
Well-being is based on the unique potential of each child within diversity
Well-being is relational and contextual
1. The interdependence of children’s well-being and children’s rights
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child lays emphasis on well-being as a key to the realisation of the child’s rights (Innocenti Report Card 7, 2007).
The UN Convention specifies that the realisation of the child’s rights is connected with his or her well-being and development ‘physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity’. It lays out a radical shift in perspective: children are considered social actors, whose experiences must be taken into account (Prout, 2004). As of November 2009, 193 countries have ratified, accepted, or acceded to it (some with stated reservations or interpretations) including every member of the United Nations except Somalia and the United States.
Article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life.
States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child. (UNICEF, 2006)
The Convention sets out the obligations and responsibilities of all in respecting the right of the child, including parents, other adults in the society, institutions, governments, and international agencies and also that of the child him or herself and the obligation to ‘assure to the child the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child’ and to ensure that ‘the views of the child be given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child’ (Article 12, UNCRC, 1989). Unlike with any of the other conventions of the United Nations, the Committee on the Rights of the Child does not just listen to governments. The Committee also invites NGO’s and child-led organisations to submit reports. These are known as the alternative reports.
Example: Funky Dragon is the Children and Young People’s Assembly for Wales. This young people led organisation was established as a charity in 2004 with the main aim to provide an opportunity for 0 – 25 year olds to get their voices heard on issues that affect them. Funky Dragon is a way for young people in Wales to speak directly to the Welsh Assembly Government and other policymakers. In February 2006 Funky Dragon started discussing the next round of U.K reporting to the Committee on the Right’s of the Child and in November 2007, on International Children's Rights Day, it launched 'Our Rights, Our Story'. In order to produce this report, Funky Dragon consulted, over period of 18 months, with over 12,000 young people aged 11-18 and over 2,000 children aged 7-10 in Wales to make sure that the reports were full of correct information, reflecting how children and young people are claiming their rights in Wales. In line with the ethos of Funky Dragon, from the outset the project was run by young people. “One of the many challenges we faced when carrying out this project was that for the vast majority of young people we spoke to, this was the first time they had discovered they had rights. You will see in the report that only 8% of young people had heard of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).”
The report was hailed a success and a brilliant insight on the issues covered - education, participation, information, health and specific interest. It was taken to Geneva by the steering group and delivered to the United Nations personally!
Adapted from the Funky Dragon website and the Introduction to Our Rights, Our Story.
Funky Dragon Page
2. Child Well-being is a condition for as well as a product of human development.
Well-being is not merely an outcome, but ‘a state of being that arises from the dynamic interplay of outcomes and processes’ (McGregor, 2006, p. 3).
Well-being is a condition for development (Flammer, 1986). How to reach well-being and what it is differs individually, culturally and at different stages of life (Grob & Kirchhoff, 2008). Well-being as flourishing acknowledges the necessity of taking into account the contexts and circumstances of the lives of children and their reports of their own well-being. Recent research points to the critical importance in addressing both present well-being of the child and engaging in learning to enrich their future circumstances (Fattore et al, 2009). A child who is realising his or her own unique potential is one who can be said to be flourishing. For a person’s life to flourish, the activities and experiences that comprise that life have to fit the unique nature of the individual as well as being appropriate for the social and cultural context in which one lives (White, 2007). Learning for well-being builds on this constant interaction between the individual with others and with the social and natural environment.
Example: Invest in the very early years and parenting
Children need a lot of responsive individual attention in their first years, preferably from their parents. Cost-benefit analyses show that investment in the age group ‘zero to three’ will repay itself many times over, due to reduced health, education and social costs in the future.Parental leave should be extended to cover at least the first two years of a child’s life. This could be taken by either parent, or potentially shared between them. High-quality childcare should be subsidised for those parents who need, or wish, to work. Parents should also be actively supported to be the best par to be the best parents they can be. This will require a mixture of community support, good local facilities, and education.
“As children grow up in this challenging environment, as new families form, and governments create policies to minimize the negative impacts on well-being, it is imperative for governments to understand the mechanisms by which children and youth flourish, how to maximize human and economic potential, and how to assess and facilitate that flourishing”. (Lippman et all 2009) Such policies will contribute to overall societal development in a myriad of positive ways.
3. Well-being is a whole child experience
Well-being involves multiple facets and aspects of being and becoming human, including the unfolding of one’s unique potentials and the capacity to pursue life meaningfully within the larger social, cultural, political and economic contexts of which the child is a part (UEF, 2008).
This definition provides an integral understanding of the whole person which is very different to the compartmentalised approach common to many perspectives, policies and interventions – indeed UNICEF highlights that “A holistic approach to Early Child Development, first and foremost, is the child’s right.” (Unicef, 2006) The elements of each domain of life and self have impact on one another, this constitutes ‘reciprocal influences on the development of the elements of well-being both within and across domains’, and the strengths from these interconnected domains ‘reverberate in synergy’. (Zaff et al.2003). recent research has highlighted the importance of emotions in development and advances in neuroscience and the development of early brain scanning have shown that feelings, empathy and emotional understanding are hard-wired into our brains through our early relationship experiences in the first years of life.
“Children’s well-being is a dynamic process, in which a child’s external circumstances (e.g., their socioeconomic background, family circumstances, physical surroundings) are constantly interacting with their individual characteristics (e.g., their personality, cognitive ability and so on) to satisfy – to a greater or lesser extent – their needs and thus build psychological resources, capabilities and positive interactions with the world around them.” NEF guide 2010
A positive and holistic approach to defining well-being lets us focus on human potentials that enable individuals to be well and to flourish - children’s assets, competencies and capacities (Pollard & Rosenburg, 2003). By moving away from a deficit perspective to a focus on the positive attributes of children, it is possible to identify determinants that enable children to flourish (Pollard & Lee, 2002). Such an approach to well-being allows for actions through which the benefit for children can become maximised while taking into consideration its individual characteristics (dispositions, abilities, environment, family).
Example: Applying a strengths-based approach:
“Health is created in the context of people’s everyday lives: where they live, love, work and play”
Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion 1986.
The Word Health Organisation defined health “as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of a disease or infirmity” (World Health Organisation, 1983). The common view about health in society is still related to the thinking about illness. In a strength-based approach the focus is no longer on preventing illnesses, it changes the focus to cultivating children’s assets, positive relation ships, morals, and capacities that give them the resources they need to develop successfully across the life course. The difficulty is that there exist a lot of separate disciplines which focus on different aspects of child development. And most of them reflect a deficit orientation. Further they address the biological and environmental influences separately. So there is not one unified discipline which has to change its focus. To assess on different points which work and operate highly independent is a challenge and a protracted process.
Strengths can be defined age-specifically.
Early developmental influences are critical to the development of strengths.
Strengths can, and do, appear, even they aren’t explicitly named and cultivated.
This approach requires a longer period from program initiation to the measurement of the results.
It’s a difficult challenge to evaluate such programs, because there are till now just a few indicators
Combining strength-based and prevention-based programs can be quite useful.
4. Well-being is based on the unique potential of each child within diversity
Well-being is “realising one’s unique potential through physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and social development … in relation to self, others, and the environment. UEF
Unique potential refers to a connection to one’s specific gifts, which includes the sense of personal identity, innate temperament, and the expression of life purpose and meaning (UEF, 2007). It represents both the essential nature of one’s evolving self and the ways in which individuals learn, communicate, and grow, which reflect the diverse processes of each child. This uniqueness appears in every human being as a particular way to develop or to flourish fully.
The first principle of all living systems (whether natural ecologies, social communities, individual human beings, etc) is self-organisation. All individuals define and sustain their own unique identity, even as they constantly adjust and adapt themselves to their internal needs and to the forces and conditions in their environments. The dynamic balance of this capacity for self-organising provides stability and integrity to the individual. (Johnson 2000).
Connected to this unique way of self-organisation, but distinct from it, is the consideration of diversity – the ways in which each individual is different from some or all other people (O’Toole). Based on research on diverse ways of thinking and knowing and on individual processes of learning the inner differences in how children learn, communicate, and solve problems require greater attention from researchers and policy makers (Bergstrom, 2004).
Example: Student Well-being and Cultural Diversity Project: Preston Girls’ Secondary College, Melbourne Australia
The idea of the project was to bring together clinical and teaching experience to develop a class room resource within the mental health promotion framework, which made sense in reaching and making connections to migrant and refugee students, and also to impact on students generally. Belonging in a community teaches people about relationships and values, and enhances connectedness and resilience. In this sense it is a protective factor in mental health. Gaining experience of diverse communities enhances resilience in that it can enrich our understandings about difference, and makes it less threatening. School communities can create environments for their students which are inclusive and able to accommodate diversity and racism.
5. Well-being is relational
Relationships are extremely important to the development of children (and adults) and are described as the most important aspect of their well-being by children. (Lippman et al 2009)
In a well-being framework the individual dimensions, children’s physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects are in interaction with themselves, others and the environment. These interactions take place in the different contexts family, peers, school, community, and the macro system as the level of policies. It is critical to differentiate relationships from the contextual factors in order to fully grasp their relevance to child well-being.
Proposed framework for L4WB:
Laura Lippman, Domains of Positive Child Well-being, presentation to the policy glossary expert meeting, Marrakesh, 2010.
At the individual level promotional factors in social and emotional domains include temperament and personality traits, which are especially difficult to change. Cognitive abilities such as strategies to act are more responsive for intervention and change. Mutual respect and responsiveness seem to be important factors for positive, nurturing, and supportive relationships which further lead to the development of trust, autonomy, and empathy. Additionally each individual has another manifestation of each element of well-being and also another combination of elements with different manifestations (Bornstein, 2003).
Example: The European Pact for Mental Health and Well-being, launched on 13 June 2008 by the European Commission with the support of the World Health Organisation, calls on the EU institutions, the Member States and key actors and players to cooperate and take actions on priority areas for the promotion of the mental health and well-being of the population. It recognises that mental health promotion in educational and community settings can play an important role in reaching youth and determining their level of mental health.
The European Parliament Committee for Health and Environment is due to vote on the motion for a resolution on Mental Health. Taking forward the commitments taken in the Mental Health Pact, the report calls on the Member States to organise support programmes for school personnel to develop a healthy school climate, as well as to build relationships between school, parents, health service providers and the community in order to strengthen the social integration of young people.
The development of empathy, conflict resolution skills, and social support is critical. There is also a range of promoting factors at the interpersonal levels. These include the quality of the interaction itself and interactions among individual characteristics of the people involved such as showing empathy. The quality of interaction is mirrored in way the participants are understood by one another. UNESCO highlights education should adopt two complementary approaches. From early childhood, it should focus on the discovery of other people in the first stage of education. In the second stage of education and in lifelong education, it should encourage involvement in common projects. This seems to be an effective way of learning to build relationships.
d) Multi-sectoral approaches: examples of action at the various levels of governance
A key defining factor of policies that support learning for well-being is joined up policy making. This requires the policy makers involved to “reach across traditional divides, define shared goals, align their strategies and share control over their programmes” (Brown et al 2010) The recognition of the interdependence of factors and social determinants that create child well-being and shape environments that support learning for well-being indicate that new forms of policy design and implementation need to be considered at all levels of governance local, national, European and global. Some such examples are described in the following:
Action at the local level
The need for joined up policies and whole of government approaches is gaining ground in many areas of policy action. In particular at the local level there have been exciting initiatives that aim to bring the whole of city government (and frequently other stakeholders) together for a common goal – such examples include sustainable cities, healthy cities, age friendly cities and more recently child friendly cities. The latter identifies the steps to build a local system of governance committed to fulfilling children’s rights
Child friendly cities (UNICEF)
Goal: Support implementation of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on communal level by promoting to improve fondness for children in communities and enabling a siting.
UNICEF CFC Secretariat developed a framework which contains the process needed to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by national governments into a local government process. With nine blocks the local governments are guided und supported with checklists to achieve a child friendly city
- Children’s participation; “promoting children’s active involvement in issues that affect them; listening to their views and taking them into consideration in decision-making processes”
- A child friendly legal framework; “ensuring legislation, regulatory frameworks and procedures which consistently promote and protect the rights of all children”
- A city-wide Children’s Rights Strategy; “developing a detailed, comprehensive strategy or agenda for building a Child Friendly City, based on the Convention“
- A Children’s Rights Unit or coordinating mechanism; “developing permanent structures in local government to ensure priority consideration of children’s perspective”
- Child impact assessment and evaluation; “ensuring that there is a systematic process to assess the impact of law, policy and practice on children – in advance, during and after implementation”
- A children’s budget; “ensuring adequate resource commitment and budget analysis for children”
- A regular State of the City’s Children Report; “ensuring sufficient monitoring and data collection on the state of children and their rights”
- Making children’s rights known; “ensuring awareness of children’s rights among adults and children”
- Independent advocacy for children; “supporting nongovernmental organisations and developing independent human rights institutions - children’s ombudspeople or commissioners for children – to promote children’s rights”
http://www.childfriendlycities.org/
Actions at the workplace:
Strategies to ensure work-family balance
Employed people are often confronted with difficulties to ensure work-family balance.
1. Parents may have difficulties to spend sufficient quality time with their children or it is difficult to ensure their children’s care, especially when both are employed. This affects children directly.
2. These work-family conflicts impact on mental and physical health and health behaviour of both the parent and the children.
Possible Initiatives:
- Flexible work-time arrangements (part-time job, home-office)
- Vacations (Time to care for ill children, maternal and paternal leave)
- Childcare facilities at work
- Provide general resources (social support) (Frone, 2003)
Multi-sectoral Action at the national level:
FINLAND: The Child Centred Society
The Finnish policy programme for the well-being of children, youth and families covers broad-based intersectoral issues and is divided into three areas: a child-oriented society; well-being of families and prevention of social exclusion. Gender equality and multicultural aspects are cross-cutting themes that are brought to force in each area and action of the policy programme. The Child centred society themes are:
Developing a knowledgebase on well-being
Designing evaluation of the impacts of policy on children
Improving information on the rights of the child
Providing a safe media and reinforcing media literacy of children and youth
Reinforcing of civic skills and participation
The Finnish government is particularly
oriented towards giving children and young people more opportunities to participate and influence their environment, their opinions should heard when planning various services as well as in the daily practice in schools and at municipal level. State administration, too, should develop ways of hearing the opinions of children and young people. An assessment of the impacts of decisions on children is recommended as are surveys about children’s own opinions.
IRELAND: The National Children’s Strategy
The National Children’s Strategy, Our Children — Their Lives, was published in November 2000 after extensive consultation with parents and groups working with children, as well as with children themselves. The strategy is a 10-year plan of action, which calls on the statutory agencies, the voluntary sector and local communities to work to improve the quality of all children’s lives. It includes a range of actions across such areas as giving children a voice so that their views are considered in relation to matters that affect them, eliminating child poverty, ensuring children have access to play and recreation facilities, and improving research on children’s lives in Ireland. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs was given responsibility for overseeing implementation of the National Children’s Strategy and coordinating Government policy on children in order to maintain the policy coherence achieved through the publication of the strategy. The National Children’s Office (NCO) was established in 2001 to lead and oversee the implementation of the National Children’s Strategy.
Multi stakeholder Network Activities:
PlayEngland
Play England has launched a Manifesto for children's play and is calling for policy makers to make play a priority. We are asking the government, MPs, councillors - as well as individuals and organisations - to make three simple pledges for all children and young people to have the freedom and space to play enjoyed by previous generations:
1. To make all residential neighbourhoods child-friendly places where children can play outside 2. To give all children the time and opportunity to play throughout childhood 3. To give all children somewhere to play - in freedom and safety - after school and in the holidays
Together Let’s Prevent Childhood Obesity is a methodology designed to involve all relevant local stakeholders in an integrated and concrete prevention program aimed at facilitating the adoption of healthier lifestyles in the everyday life. The programmes developed on the basis of the EPODE framework are long term, aimed at changing the environment and thereby the unhealthy behaviours. The approach is ’positive, concrete and stepwise’ learning process with no stigmatization of any culture, food habits, overweight and obesity. The first EPODE programme was started in France in the 2003 and EPODE now extends to nearly 1,8 million inhabitants in 167 French cities, 20 cities in Spain and 8 cities in Belgium. Success to date is measured by a large field mobilization in the pilot cities and by the encouraging evolution of the BMI of children in France within the pilot cities. EPODE is about to be implemented in Greece, Québec (Canada) and in Australia.
UK Healthy Start
Healthy Start provides a nutritional safety net and encouragement for breastfeeding and healthy eating to around 600,000 women and children in over 450,000 very low income, and disadvantaged families across the UK. It offers vouchers that can be put towards the cost of milk, fruit and vegetables in any one of around 30,000 individual participating retail outlets, including small shops and businesses as well as major supermarkets. Following a recent public consultation from April 2011 families on Healthy Start can also buy plain frozen fruit and vegetables such as plain frozen peas, carrots, beans and raspberries with their vouchers. The aim is to encourage low income families supported by Healthy Start to eat more fruit and vegetables through increasing the choice of products available.
Insert examples from the Foundations and their partners.
CONSULTATION QUESTIONS
How can we best illustrate the multi-dimensional and pro-active approaches?
Are the arguments for the need for all society to contribute sufficiently strong and well-illustrated? What would you modify or add?
Are there missing aspects to the components of child well-being?
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