Children as Citizens? International Voices

The rights of children as citizens have become an increasing focus of international attention as the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is celebrated in 2009.

This book is an account of a collaborative international study about the meaning of citizenship to children – how they view their status and membership in society through notions of identity, rights and responsibilities as citizens.

The authors explore how children (8-9 years) and young people (14-15 years) from six countries – Australia, Brazil, NZ, Norway, Palestine and South Africa -– understand and experience citizenship.

Children actively make sense of the world, construct an identity in the process, and grapple with problems.

Key components of citizenship for children include entitlement to recognition and respect, opportunities for meaningful participation, the right to express opinions and have them considered, and the fulfilment of duties to others.

While the family is the most powerful and pervasive context for children’s lives, they also spend time in daycare centres, schools, and hospitals.

Children are affected by legal, health, educational, welfare, housing and other social policies.
The research that informs this book was conducted under the auspices of the Childwatch International Research Network – a global, non-profit, non-governmental network of institutions engaged in research for children.

With an international line-up of contributors, Children as Citizens is a comprehensive, authoritative, and timely contribution to the on-going debate about the status and rights of children. It will be essential reading for members of the social policy, legal, health and education sectors.

It is co-authored by Dr Nicola Taylor, a senior research fellow with the Children’s Issues Centre, University of Otago and Emeritus Prof. Anne Smith, inaugural director of the Children’s Issues Centre at the University of Otago from 1995 to 2006.