Conceptual models of child participation

Abstract

Children have a fundamental need and right to participate in issues that affect them. Child participation has a broad international literature and has become a central issue in the field of children’s rights and child protection in recent years. Although the concept is beginning to be used in Hungary, no summary of its theoretical framework has been produced in Hungarian so far. The aim of this theoretical paper is to present the main conceptual models of child participation and to contribute to research on the topic in Hungary. Hierarchical models rank children’s participation according to the degree of influence on decision-making, dimensional models summarize the components and conditions of meaningful participation, and contextual models emphasize the role of adult individuals, institutional and sociocultural characteristics, and the relational nature of participation. Understanding the theoretical basis of child participation is relevant for all researchers and practitioners working with or for children. The development of conceptual models points to the need to apply an empowering approach alongside a prescriptive one. This indicates promising avenues for further research and calls for cooperation between the social sciences.