Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T01:31:09.620Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Children's Rights and Children's Wellbeing: Equivalent Policy Concepts?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 July 2015

E. KAY M. TISDALL
E. KAY M. TISDALL*
Affiliation:
Social Policy and Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. email: k.tisdall@ed.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Children's rights and children's wellbeing are often casually paired together in both academic literature and policy discussions, but they differ conceptually, methodologically and politically. This has become particularly evident in Scotland, where ‘landmark’ children's legislation in 2014 has set up a clash between statutory requirements for children's rights and children's wellbeing. This article utilises the Scottish example to wrestle with the advantages and disadvantages of each concept as a framework for policy and practice. The article concludes that children's wellbeing benefits from being aspirational and maximising, easily incorporating children's relationships and collective needs, and having advanced quantitative methods of measurement. But children's wellbeing also risks being apolitical, utilitarian and professionally led in both measurement and practice. Children's rights, in contrast, emphasise minimum standards, do not easily include important matters for children, such as love and friendship, and have limited quantitative investment to date. Yet they are politically powerful, backed by law, and hold duty bearers accountable. Decisions need to be made about the relationship between children's rights and children's wellbeing – and which is the primary framing for policy and practice – because they are not equivalent concepts.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , October 2015 , pp. 807 - 823
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ansell, N., Barker, J. and Smith, F. (2007), ‘UNICEF “Child Poverty in Perspective” report: a view from the UK’, Children's Geographies, 5: 2, 325–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arneil, B. (2002), ‘Becoming versus being: a critical analysis of the child in liberal theory’, in Archard, D. and Macleod, C. M. (eds.), The Moral and Political Status of Children, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 70–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Axford, N. (2009), ‘Child well-being through different lenses: why concept matters’, Child and Family Social Work, 14: 4, 373–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ben-Arieh, A. (2005), ‘Where are the children? Children's role in measuring and monitoring their well-being’, Social Indicators Research, 74: 573–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ben-Arieh, A., Casas, F., Frønes, I. and Korbin, J. (2014), ‘Multifaceted concept of child well-being’, in Ben-Arieh, A., Casas, F., Frønes, I. and Korbin, J. (eds.), Handbook of Child Well-Being, Dordrecht: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bentham, J. (1776) A Fragment on Government, reproduced at http://www.constitution.org/jb/frag_gov.htm (accessed 12 December 2014).Google Scholar
Bradshaw, J., Hoelscher, P. and Richardson, D. (2006), Comparing Child Well-Being in OECD Countries: Concepts and Methods, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/iwp2006_03_eng.pdf (accessed 12 December 2014).Google Scholar
Bradshaw, J., Hoelscher, P. and Richardson, D. (2007), ‘An index of child well-being in the European Union’, Social Indicators Research, 80: 133–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradshaw, J. (2014), ‘Overview: social policies and child well-being’, in Ben-Arieh, A., Casas, F., Frønes, I. and Korbin, J. (eds.), Handbook of Child Well-Being, Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 2921–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camfield, L., Streuli, N. and Woodhead, M. (2009), ‘What the use of “well-being” in contexts of child poverty? Approaches to research, monitoring and children's participation’, International Journal of Children's Rights, 17: 65–109.Google Scholar
Doek, J. E. (2014), ‘Child well-being: children's rights perspective’, in Ben-Arieh, A., Casas, F., Frønes, I. and Korbin, J. (eds.), Handbook of Child Well-Being, Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar
Dworkin, R. (1977), Taking Rights Seriously, Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Edwards, C. and Imrie, R. (2008), ‘Disability and the implications of the wellbeing agenda: some reflections from the United Kingdom’, Journal of Social Policy, 37: 3, 337–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ennew, J. (1995), ‘Outside childhood: street children's rights’, in Franklin, B. (ed.), The Handbook of Children's Rights, London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Fineman, M. A. (2008), ‘The vulnerable subject: anchoring equality in the human condition’, Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, 20: 1, 1–18.Google Scholar
Fineman, M. A. (2010/11), ‘The vulnerable subject and the responsive state’, Emory Law Journal, 60: 251–75.Google Scholar
Freeman, M. D. A. (1983), The Rights and Wrongs of Children, London: Francis Pinter.Google Scholar
Hall, J. (2013), ‘From capabilities to contentment: testing the links between human development and life satisfaction’, in Helliwell, J., Layard, R. and Sachs, J. D. (eds.), World Happiness Report 2013, http://unsdsn.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/02/WorldHappinessReport2013_online.pdf (accessed 28 June 2014).Google Scholar
Herring, J. (2012), ‘Vulnerability, children and the law’, in Freeman, M. D. (ed.), Law and Childhood Studies, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hood, S. (2007), ‘Reporting on children's well-being: the state of London's children social indicators’, Social Indicators Research, 80: 1, 249–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, A., (2010), ‘Competition or integration? The next step in childhood studies?’, Childhood, 17: 4, 485–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, J. (1997), ‘The best interests of the child: a concept in search of meaning’, Family and Conciliation Courts Review, 35: 4, 377–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kjørholt, A. and Qvortrup, J. (eds.) (2011), The Modern Child and the Flexible Labour Market: Early Childhood Education and Care, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Khadka, S. (2013), ‘Social rights and the United Nations Child Rights Convention’, International Journal of Children's Rights, 21: 616–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kymlicka, W. (1990), Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Locke, J. (1982) Second Treatise of Government, Cox, R. (ed.), Arlington Heights: Harlan Davidson Inc. (original work published 1690).Google Scholar
Lundy, L. (2014), ‘United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and Child-Wellbeing’, Ben-Arieh, A., Casas, F., Frønes, I. and Korbin, J. (eds.), Handbook of Child Well-Being, Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar
Mayall, B. (2000), ‘The sociology of childhood in relation to children's rights’, The International Journal of Children's Rights, 8: 243–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAllister, F. (2005), Wellbeing Concepts and Challenges, http://www.sd-research.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Wellbeing%20Concepts%20and%20Challenges_0.pdf (accessed 28 Novemer 2014).Google Scholar
Melton, G. (2014), ‘“Because it's the right (or wrong) thing to do”: when children's well-being is the wrong outcome’, in Ben-Arieh, A., Casas, F., Frønes, I. and Korbin, J. (eds.), Handbook of Child Well-Being, Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar
Morrow, V. and Mayall, B. (2009), ‘What is wrong with children's well-being in the UK? Questions of meaning and measurement’, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 31: 3, 217–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OECD (2009), Doing Better for Children, Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
Pupavac, V. (2001), ‘Misanthropy without borders: The international children's rights regime’, Disasters, 25: 2, 95–112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prout, A. and James, A. (1990), ‘A new paradigm for the sociology of childhood? Provenance, promise and problems’, in James, A. and Prout, A. (eds.), Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood: Contemporary Issues in the Sociological Study of Childhood, London: The Falmer Press, pp. 7–33.Google Scholar
Qvortrup, J. (2011), ‘Childhood as a structural form’, in Qvortrup, J., Corsaro, W.A. and Honig, M. (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Childhood Studies, Basingstoke: Palgrave Press, pp. 21–33.Google Scholar
Redmond, G. (2014), ‘To their fullest potential? Conceptualising the adequacy of children's living standards for their development’, International Journal of Children's Rights, 22: 618–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandel, M. (1982), Liberalism and the Limits of Justice, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Scottish Government (2012), Consultation on the Rights of Children and Young People: Scottish Government Response, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00392992.pdf (accessed 6 December 2013).Google Scholar
Scottish Government (2013). UNCRC: The Foundation of Getting It Right for Every Child, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0041/00417256.pdf (accessed 28 November 2014).Google Scholar
Scottish Government and CoSLA (2007), Concordat between the Scottish Government and Local Government, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/923/0054147.pdf (accessed 12 December 2014).Google Scholar
Scottish Parliament (2013), Children and Young People Scotland Bill Policy Memorandum, http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_Bills/Children%20and%20Young%20People%20%28Scotland%29%20Bill/b27s4-introd-pm.pdf (accessed 12 December 2014).Google Scholar
Statham, J. and Chase, E. (2010), Childhood Wellbeing: A Brief Overview, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/183197/Child-Wellbeing-Brief.pdf (accessed 12 December 2014).Google Scholar
Stiglitz, J., Sen, A. and Fitoussi, J. (2009), Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, http://www.stiglitz-sen-fitoussi.fr/documents/rapport_anglais.pdf (accessed 18 August 2014).Google Scholar
Stradling, B. and Alexander, B. (2012), ‘Getting it right for children: promoting effective change’, in Hill, M., Head, G., Lockyer, A., Reid, B. and Taylor, R. (eds.), Children's Services: Working Together, Harlow: Pearson Publishing.Google Scholar
Taylor, D. (2011), ‘Wellbeing and welfare: a psychological analysis of being well and doing well enough’, Journal of Social Policy, 40: 4, 777–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tisdall, E. K. M. and Davis, J. M. (2015), ‘Children's rights and wellbeing: tensions within the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014’, in Smith, A. (ed.), Enhancing the Rights and Wellbeing of Children: Connecting Research, Policy and Practice, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Tisdall, E. K. M. and Hill, M. (2011), ‘Policy change under devolution: the prism of children's policy’, Social Policy and Society, 10: 1, 29–40.Google Scholar
Tisdall, K. and Plows, V. (2007), Children in Need: Examining Its Use in Practice and Reflecting on Its Currency for Proposed Policy Changes, Edinburgh: Scottish Executive.Google Scholar
Tisdall, E. K. M. and Punch, S. (2012), ‘Not so “new”? Looking critically at childhood studies’, Children's Geographies, 10: 3, 249–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tisdall, E. K. M. (2015), ‘Children and young people's participation: a critical consideration of Article 12’, in Vandenhole, W., Desmet, E., Reynaert, D., and Lembrechts, S. (eds.), Routledge International Handbook Children's Rights Studies, London: Routledge, pp. 185–200.Google Scholar
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2003), General Comment No. 5: General Measures of Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2fGC%2f2003%2f5&Lang=en (accessed 10 March 2014).Google Scholar
UNICEF (2014), About UNICEF: Who we are, http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_introduction.html (accessed 28 November 2014).Google Scholar
Valentin, K. and Meinert, L. (2009), ‘The adult north and the young south’, Anthropology Today, 25: 3, 23–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Bueren, G. (2011), ‘Multigenerational citizenship: the importance of recognising children as national and international citizens’, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 633: 30–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vandenhole, W., Desmet, E., Reynaert, D. and Lembrechts, S. (eds.) (2015), Routledge International Handbook of Children's Rights Studies, London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Veerman, P. E. (2010), ‘The ageing of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child’, International Journal of Children's Rights, 18: 4, 585–618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wells, K. (2015), Childhood in a Global Perspective, 2nd edn, Bristol: Policy Press.Google Scholar
White, S.C. (2010), ‘Analysing wellbeing: a framework for development practice’, Development in Practice, 20: 2, 158–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Health Organisation (1946), Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization, adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19–22 June, 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948, http://www.who.int/about/definition/en/print.html (accessed 28 November 14).Google Scholar
Young, I. M. (1989), ‘Polity and group difference: a critique of the ideal of universal citizenship’, Ethics, 99: 2, 250–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zermatten, J. (2010), ‘The best interests of the child principle: literal analysis and function’, International Journal of Children's Rights, 18: 4, 483–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar