Children, Family, And The State: Decision-making And Child Participation

Children, Family and the State Decision-Making and Child Participation Nigel Thomas 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 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0–333–76037–9 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 0–312–23626–3 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 0–312–23626–3 (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 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 W1P 0LP. 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 09 9 08 8 07 7 06 6 05 5 04 4 3 03 02 2 01 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire 1 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 8.2 Children’s invitation to meetings related to purpose of meeting 8.3 Children invited before and after use of Looking After Children forms 8.4 Children invited to meetings according to legal status 8.5 Children’s attendance and relationship between family and agency 8.6 Children invited and relationship between family and agency 8.7 Children’s attendance whe