Why the micro is, in fact, mega: the mundane matters
Twenty years ago, I began a project which changed the course of my career – a study for the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People with a focus on when children themselves thought that their rights were ignored or underplayed.
The significant cross-cutting theme was that their views were ignored and dismissed, findings that ultimately led to the creation of what is now known as the Lundy Model. However, underpinning that, in all areas of their lives, were a series of issues that children told us bothered them, including for example, amount of playtime, different bedtimes from siblings, the quality of school dinners, and so on.
At the first academic conference in which I presented this study, I met a person who had been carrying out participatory research with children for many years. When I mentioned what I was about to present, the take was as follows: “Oh so it will be all better school food and more playtime… [alongside a fake yawn]”. As it happened, it wasn’t as I was about to present a conceptual framework for understanding and implementing Article 12 that, unbeknownst to both of us, would go the academic equivalent of viral. However, the response grated with me, mainly (if I am honest) because it seemed dismissive of our work but also partly because it seemed so dismissive of the children to whom we had spoken. Since then, I have encountered a similarly scornful or offhand attitude to the things that matter to children many times and that is what I’d like to unpick a little here.
When you ask children about their lives, all over the world they will focus on what might be considered to be ‘micro issues’, with the food they get to eat or opportunities to play or leisure featuring almost always. Pets are big too, even though they do not feature in the UNCRC (an omission that including children as drafters might have addressed…). These issues are important whatever is happening in their lives (including during a global pandemic as we found in CovidUnder19) or wherever they happen to be (including in detention as we found in the Global Study on Children Deprived of their Liberty). In the latter case, it can also be haircuts and talking to their girlfriends. The seemingly mundane really matters even when you expect children to focus on ‘more important’ issues.
Why is the micro so important? These are not just minor annoyances they are often micro-injustices – perceived unfairnesses in their daily lives, rankled further by their inability to be heard and change the conditions of their lives. It is not just the issue itself, but the lack of dignity, equality, and respect afforded to them on the issue that lies at the heart of these concerns. In almost all cases, the lack of autonomy over the quotidien is fundamentally rooted in a perceived or actual lack of respect. So frequently does this arise that we, at the Centre for Children’s Rights at Queen’s, are about to launch a major research study, exploring children’s understandings of the concept of respect – RADICAL (Respect and Disrespect in Children’s and Adolescents’ Lives). This will work with children to develop their own theories and understanding of respect, disrespect, and lack of respect and explore how this manifests itself in their daily lives at home, school, and in the community.
“The micro can be mega, not in itself but because it is often a manifestation of injustice.”
I expect that we will hear a lot from children about what they perceive as unjustified differential treatment in their day-to-day lives compared to adults. These micro-injustices emerge in what might be understood as microcosms of injustice – contexts where children have little say over the everyday. One obvious such location is the school that they attend (and yes, not all schools but, from global research, many of them for sure). For example, one of the issues that emerges frequently when you talk to children about their school lives relates to school toilets (N.B. If you ever have an opportunity to ask children about school toilets, I recommend that you do. If you want a good sense of how children are valued in any environment, check out the loos…). You can’t get more ‘mundane’ than this but children have so, so many issues with them that would rarely affect adults, including cleanliness, availability of soap and quality of toilet tissue, their safety, and, above all, when they are permitted to use them. Of course, many schools are struggling to find ways to ensure that toilets are not misused or vandalised but putting arbitrary limits on the normal bodily functions, as some have done, is not the answer. The answer will only be found in collaboration with children in a process that is grounded in respect.
So, the micro can be mega, not in itself but because it is often a manifestation of injustice. I note that many schools have an approach to discipline that comes down hard on little misdemeanours with a philosophy that ‘the big things will take care of themselves.’ I wonder if this could also be true for child participation – engage with children meaningfully on their everyday concerns and perhaps the bigger issues won’t become issues at all? For example, instead of sanctioning a child every time their top button is undone, agree dress codes with children removing the rules that serve little educational purpose and can potentially simmer in a cauldron of resentment. Perhaps it’s not so much about choosing your battles, as not battling at all, giving children space, voice, audience, and influence on the everyday matters that matter to them, mundane or otherwise.
Bio
Professor Laura Lundy is a pioneer of the theory of child participation in decision making systems which affect them. She is Co-Director of the Centre for Children’s Rights and Professor of Children's Rights at Queen’s University, Belfast, and Professor of Law at University College Cork. She is Joint Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Children’s Rights and a qualified barrister at law. Professor Lundy’s ‘Lundy Model’ for child participation has been adopted by various institutions, including the European Commission, the World Health Organisation, and UNICEF. Professor Lundy has written extensively on children’s right to education as well as on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and supported the development of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment No.19. She is an Honorary Member of The Child Friendly Governance Project.