Children, Family and the State: Decision-Making and Child Participation

256 Pages·2000·0.921 MB·English

by  Nigel Thomas (auth.)

Children, Family and the State
Also by Nigel Thomas
AREA CHILD PROTECTION COMMITTEES (with Robert Sanders)
ON THE MOVE AGAIN: What Works in Creating Stability for Looked After
Children (with Sonia Jackson)
Children, Family and
the State
Decision-Making and Child Participation
Nigel Thomas
Lecturer in Applied Social Studies
University of Wales
Swansea
Consultant Editor: Jo Campling
First published in Great Britain 2000 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-349-41383-6 ISBN 978-1-4039-1991-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781403919915
First published in the United States of America 2000 by
ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, LLC,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-23626-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Thomas, Nigel, 1950–
Children, family, and the state : decision-making and child participation /
Nigel Thomas ; consulting editor, Jo Campling.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-23626-7 (cloth)
1. Child welfare—Great Britain. 2. Children—Government policy—Great
Britain. 3. Decision making in children—Great Britain. I. Campling, Jo. II.
Title.
HV751.A6 T47 2000
362.7'0941—dc21
00–033351
©Nigel Thomas 2000
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2000 978-0-333-76037-6
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written
permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright
Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P0LP.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained
forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00
To my family

Contents
List of Tables and Figures ix
Foreword, by Malcolm Hill xi
Acknowledgements xiii
01 Introduction 1
02 Theories of Childhood 5
03 Psychology of Childhood 21
04 Rights of Childhood 36
05 Children, Parents and the State 50
06 Children Looked After by the State 70
07 Doing Research with Children 96
08 Patterns of Participation 115
09 Children’s Views 132
10 Adults’ Views 153
11 Making Sense of the Research 167
12 Children’s Decisions and Children’s Place 190
Notes 202
References 219
Index 238
vii

List of Tables and Figures
List of Tables
8.1 Children invited to meetings at different ages 123
8.2 Children’s invitation to meetings related to
purpose of meeting 123
8.3 Children invited before and after use of
Looking After Children forms 124
8.4 Children invited to meetings according to legal status 124
8.5 Children’s attendance and relationship between
family and agency 125
8.6 Children invited and relationship between
family and agency 125
8.7 Children’s attendance when invited and
family–agency relationship 125
8.8 Influence of children’s views and
child’s attendance at meeting 126
8.9 Child’s influence related to difference of
view with social worker 127
9.1 People who children mentioned most often 137
List of Figures
09.1 How children rated their review meetings
(‘pots and beans’) 147
09.2 Children’s ranking of factors in participation
(‘diamond ranking’) 152
11.1 Matrix of attitudes to participation by
children with disabilities 172
11.2 The ‘climbing wall’ of participation 176
ix