Abstract Books of the Global Conference on Children and Youth
The Abstract Books of the Global Conference on Children and Youth (GCCY) presents carefully peer-reviewed research presented at the annual Children and Youth conference organized by Proud Pen. This collection captures original work across the field of Children and Youth, spanning theoretical frameworks to applied studies. Each volume serves as a reference for ongoing research and study in the discipline.
Seen But Not Heard: The Inclusion of Children in Democratic Deliberation
The exclusion of children from democracy is rarely seen as a matter of concern. Childhood is considered a blissful period, not to be disturbed by the gruesome realm of adult politics. Drawing on critical theories of adultism, also known as childism (Liebel/Meade 2026, Wall 2025), this paper challenges the ideal of an apolitical childhood and problematises the lack of political rights of children. The argument for this is twofold: First, central democratic principles such as inclusion, equality, and self-determination demand the inclusion of all affected citizens; therefore, age-based exclusion is not justifiable. Secondly, this paper argues that children are a social group oppressed by adults (Young 1990). It challenges the notion that childhood is biologically determined, instead viewing it as socially constructed. Adultism, the belief system that legitimises the hierarchy of adults over children, is therefore not natural, but apt to change. Employing Young’s (2000) argumentation, democratic inclusion through voting rights and consequential deliberation could remedy the oppression children face in today’s society. The paper reflects on Young’s conception of inclusive political communication, extending it with the concepts of Epistemic Justice (Fricker 2007) and Embodied Speech (Simplican 2009), thereby making it applicable to the needs and capabilities of children. Lastly, the paper explores the possibilities and challenges of children’s deliberation by analyzing a study of German kindergartens that implemented democratic principles and practices.
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From Policy Objects to Political Actors: Youth Mobilization, Student Resistance, and Higher Education Reforms in Georgia (2013-2026)
This study examines higher education reforms in Georgia under Georgian Dream governance (2013-2026), tracing how restructuring transformed students from policy recipients into political actors. Drawing on documentary, discourse, and policy analysis, expert interviews, and 2 student focus groups, it examines the chronology and contested implementation of reforms.The trajectory unfolds across two phases. The first, beginning in 2013, was marked by large-scale student mobilization following the withdrawal of authorization from the Agricultural University of Georgia. Mobilization contributed to the restoration of its authorization within fourteen days, demonstrating student activism’s capacity to influence policy outcomes. The second phase, spanning 2024-2026, involved restructuring, including reducing bachelor’s programs from 240 to 180 ECTS, discontinuing Minor qualifications, restructuring curricula,and changing enrollment quotas and funding mechanisms. Limited stakeholder involvement indicates increasingly centralized governance.Student mobilization continued to shape reform. Collective action contributed to abandoning the “One City-One Faculty” framework, suspending the proposed merger of Tbilisi State University and Georgian Technical University in February 2026, and preserving optional twelfth-grade schooling, with implications for access to European higher education. Activism transcended institutions, developing into cross-university and intergenerational coalitions and drawing on transnational repertoires of youth mobilization.The study argues that these reforms pose challenges to educational accessibility, European academic mobility, research capacity, and labor market equality. Weakening higher education as a mechanism of social mobility may deepen socioeconomic inequalities and constrain youth prospects. Ultimately, the Georgian case demonstrates that sustained contestation can reposition young people from passive recipients of educational policy to actors capable of influencing reform.
The Effectiveness of Twice-Used Diversion-Mediation for Juveniles in Conflict with The Law
Nowadays, particular attention is paid on the introduction and the utilisation of the restorative justice measures in regards to juveniles. The measures taken by the state, should represent and symbolise effective ways of crime prevention, aligning with juveniles fundamental rights. Due to its distinct essence, the Restorative justice can be contemplated as one of the most effective, valuable and ultimate practice of crime prevention. The judicial reinstatement is regarded as one of the core values of restorative justice. However, after the detailed examination and analyse of international implementation and operation of a sole usage of the diversion, it is deduced that only one usage of diversion is genuinely insufficient for juveniles in conflict with the law to prevent recidivism. It is noteworthy, that diversion-mediation, as the principal pillar of restorative justice occupies extremely crucial role in the resocialisation-rehabilitation of juveniles, as well as in an effective prevention of recidivism. European and American models of diversion-mediation as the principle mechanisms of restorative justice system are reviewed and discussed in the following paper along with the analyses and evaluation of the judgements made by international courts, which indicates the adequacy of the usage of the diversion, in regards to the juveniles. The article represents an innovative perspective that will contribute to the development of juvenile justice system in Georgia and lead to its harmonisation with the European standards.
Fun and Games or Something Deeper: A New Understanding of Carefreeness
Existing political theory literature portrays children as irrational, non-autonomous beings: at worst, as having rights comparable to animals, and at best, as rights-holders in waiting. My account instead begins from a sociological understanding of childhood as a social condition distinct from biological maturity. In moving away from traditional philosophical accounts of childhood, which assume a fixed endpoint to childhood and impose a binary between adults and children, I question what we owe those in a state of childhood and argue that we owe children well-being, and that children’s well-being requires conditions that allow them to be as carefree as possible. My account extends Luara Ferracioli’s definition of carefreeness as a “mental life whereby an agent is disposed to experience the world without worry, even though there will be some moments where she will experience an array of negative emotions associated with stress and anxiety” (Ferracioli, 2018; 92). On my view, carefreeness depends on three conditions: 1) opportunities for personal projects or unstructured free time; 2) the goods of intimate relationships; and 3) responsibilities and expectations suited to the child’s capabilities. Unlike existing accounts, this view does not require children to be entirely free from responsibility. Rather, I argue that due to the socially constructed nature of childhood, the right to carefreeness is necessary for children to not only have the freedom to build their current identities, but also their future selves and their skills/capacities.
The Spatial Dimension of Social Inequalities Affecting Children: A Child-Centered Social Impact Assessment Framework
Social inequalities affecting children are commonly examined through disparities in health, nutrition, and socioeconomic conditions. However, spatial inequalities manifested in unequal access to safe, inclusive, and age-appropriate public and shared spaces also play a critical role in shaping children's physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. This study investigates the effects of urban regeneration on children's access to and use of playgrounds, sports facilities, and green spaces, and proposes a Child-Centered Social Impact Assessment (CCSIA) framework that systematically incorporates children's perspectives into planning and decision-making processes. The study adopts a mixed-methods approach based on a large-scale urban regeneration project implemented in Ankara, Türkiye, combining surveys with more than 500 children and their caregivers, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations. The findings demonstrate that children's opportunities for play, physical activity and social interaction depend not merely on the existence of public spaces but also on their accessibility, quality, and age-appropriate design. The research further reveals that children from socioeconomically disadvantaged households rely more heavily on neighborhood facilities, making deficiencies in local public spaces a significant source of spatial inequality. Drawing on these findings, the study proposes a four-stage Child-Centered Social Impact Assessment framework consisting of baseline assessment, participatory data collection, social impact analysis and post-implementation monitoring and feedback. While developed in the context of urban regeneration, the framework is also applicable to broader local planning processes. By recognizing spatial inequality as a fundamental dimension of the social inequalities affecting children's well-being, the proposed framework promotes the systematic inclusion of children's voices throughout planning processes and contributes to the development of more inclusive, child-friendly and socially sustainable cities.
Youth Advocate Programs, Inc: Strengthening Communities, One Biography at a Time
The panel will cover topics outlined in the paper ‘Adaptation of an Evidence-Based Model by Context and Culture: A Case Study of the US-Based YAPWrap® Services Model.’ Understanding the successes and challenges in adapting evidence-based interventions in new contexts is growing in interest by both researchers and practitioners (Wiltsey-Stirman C Baumann, 2019). In this study, we use The Frame, an expanded template for reporting adaptations (Stirman, Baumann C Miller, 2019) to study the adaptation of the US-based YAPWrap® services model of Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP*) for high-risk young people in US and Global contexts. Using multi-method data collection strategies, we take a retrospective look describing aspects of the core model that were adapted; how they were adapted; the reasons for the adaptation and the impacts of adaptations on model fidelity. Findings reveal the importance of a core set of unifying model values and principles that help guide model adaptations and serve as fidelity protective factors. Panelists share the YAP story with its origins in youth criminal justice in 1975 in the US then adapted to an Irish context working with young people in the child protection sector for the past 24 years. Panelists introduce what weaves the YAP global community together: YAP affiliates around the world working effectively by empowering youth to have a voice and choice in their care and the academic and practical learnings that strengthen communities, one biography at a time.
Adaptation of an Evidence-Based Model by Context and Culture: A Case Study of the US-Based YAPWrap® Services Model
Understanding the successes and challenges in adapting evidence-based interventions in new contexts is growing in interest by both researchers and practitioners (Wiltsey-Stirman &, Baumann, 2019). The processes and outcomes of adaptations including the kinds of adaptations that increase the likelihood of intervention success in new contexts have not been well researched (Baumann, Cabassa & Stirman, 2017; Stirman, Miller, Toder & Calloway, 2017). In this study, we use The Frame, an expanded template for reporting adaptations (Stirman, Baumann & Miller, 2019) to study the adaptation of the US-based YAPWrap® services model of Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP*) for high-risk young people in US and Global contexts. Using multi-method data collection strategies, we take a retrospective look describing aspects of the core model that were adapted; how they were adapted; the reasons for the adaptation and the impacts of adaptations on model fidelity. Findings reveal the importance of a core set of unifying model values and principles that help guide model adaptations and serve as fidelity protective factors. Model adaptations that build off local contextual assets to create innovative implementation strategies are identified. The diversity of site adaptations provides an excellent opportunity for mutual learning and ways to enhance fit into new contexts. Paper recommendations will inform the launch of YAP’s Global Leadership Institute designed to enhance adaptation processes and further cross-cultural learning. Additional research questions and study methods are offered to build the knowledge-based of model adaptation reporting and implementation.
Modelling Education Mediated Effects of Child Marriage Bans on Second Generation Child Marriage in Low and Middle-Income Countries
Child marriage has negative effects on human capital development, spurring a global effort to ban the practice. However, child marriage remains prevalent in developing countries despite legal prohibitions, raising questions about whether the child marriage bans generate persistent long-term benefits or fade over time. This paper evaluates the intergenerational impacts of the bans on educational attainment and child marriage outcomes. We achieve this using data from the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey and the World Bank’s Women, Business and Law dataset, comprising eight Low and Middle-Income Countries. Exploiting subnational spatial variations in pre-ban intensity of child marriage and cohort treatment variations, we ap-ply difference-in-difference and instrumental variable approaches to identify causal effects. We find that exposure to the ban results in improved educa-tional attainment and reduces the likelihood of child marriage in the second generation, proving persistent policy effects. Therefore, a well enforced child marriage ban can create a higher self-sustaining equilibrium among the next generations such that resources could be focused on solving other challenges in future. However, the impacts are concentrated in urban areas with limited effects in rural areas. Strengthening the enforcement of the ban, particularly in rural areas, is imperative to enhance long-term benefits.
Nurturing Family Communion: Experience from Adolescents with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) in Brace Treatment through a Family-Based Group Intervention
Background: Brace treatment for adolescents having Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is a health challenge throughout the course of disease. Integrated treatment approach complemented medical care with family-based group intervention was to connect these adolescents and their families to face brace treatment with knowledge, skillsets and family support. Purpose: Family-based group intervention built on Multiple Family Therapy (MFT) consisted of six family sessions was offered to the adolescents (aged between 10 and 16 years, with AIS and prescribed brace treatment) and their families in Hong Kong. Fifteen adolescents and twenty-two family members joined the groups during September 2023 and July 2024. Method: Mixed research method was adopted for the study. Chinese version of the Brace Questionnaire was used to assess the adolescents’ psychological well-being. A qualitative interview was conducted to explore the subjective experience of the adolescents’ family group experience. This presentation shared the findings from qualitative research. Result: Twelve adolescents took part in a qualitative interview after the family group to share their experiences in these family-based sessions. With narrative analysis, their subjective experiences, especially the changes in relationships and interactions with their parents, were thematized. Family communion was nurtured and socially constructed by adolescents in three major themes: (1) family cohesion, (2) parent-child communication, and (3) conflict resolution in family. Conclusion: Family communion was perceived as family resources and strengths by adolescents during brace treatment and for better healthcare and disease management.
Working Memory Assessment in Preschoolers
Working memory (WM) is a cognitive system that temporarily holds and manipulates information. It is commonly assessed using the delayed-match-to-sample (DMTS) paradigm in early childhood. However, standard DMTS format may impose additional knowledge-based, cognitive and verbal demands on preschoolers, making it difficult to determine whether poor performance reflects WM limitations alone or also difficulty engaging with these demands. Causal task-framing was assumed to reduce additional demands, make the task more developmentally appropriate and allow clearer interpretation of preschoolers' WM abilities. This study examined how task framing, age and delay influenced preschoolers' performance on a modified DMTS, and whether standard format obscured performance, whereas more developmentally appropriate, causal task-framing supported it. 72 children (2-4-year-olds) completed either arbitrary-matching condition (n=34) or causally-framed object-location condition (n=38), across 2- and 8-second delays. Accuracy was higher in object-location condition than in arbitrary-matching condition. The effect of condition varied by age: 3 and 4-year-olds outperformed 2-year-olds in object-location condition, but no age differences emerged in arbitrary-matching condition. Delay-related effects were non-significant, possibly due to delay manipulation limitations. Overall, WM performance was shaped by task-framing, with a more developmentally appropriate DMTS supporting performance and potentially allowing developmental variation to emerge more clearly. Conversely, standard DMTS may underestimate preschoolers' WM and obscure developmental variation. These findings provided insights into early WM development, highlighted the need for cautious interpretation of preschoolers’ performance on non-adapted, developmentally inappropriate paradigms and underscored the importance of developmentally appropriate assessments to inform educational and clinical practice, including tailored interventions and teaching strategies.
Mental Health Paradox: When Being Mentally Healthy Becomes A ‘Toxic’ Ideal
Despite growing global concern about young people’s mental health, dominant research and policy approaches continue to privilege individualistic understandings of mental health, increasingly equating it with wellbeing and positive feelings. This paper introduces the concept of the mental health paradox to explain how the growing imperative to achieve and maintain an ideal state of mental health and subjective wellbeing can generate self-assessment and self-surveillance and, therefore, new forms of discomfort. Drawing on relational materialist approaches to childhood, the paper conceptualises the mental health paradox as a relational, emergent effect of contemporary discourses that position positive feelings as indicators of health while framing discomfort, uncertainty, confusion, and sadness as signs of individual deficiency and sub-optimal mental health. The paper explores the understandings of mental health that Ecuadorian adolescents construct. The study draws on participatory interviews, focus groups and photovoice activities conducted with adolescents aged 14–17 across three socioeconomically diverse schools in Ecuador. Findings suggest that mental health, as a concept, is constantly evolving and shaped by political and economic interests. Participants’ accounts exposed how the current dominant discourse of mental health creates new interpersonal dynamics, illustrating the operation of the mental health paradox. By foregrounding adolescents’ perspectives, the paper contributes to relational childhood studies by connecting young people’s everyday experiences to broader sociopolitical processes, challenging taken-for-granted assumptions about mental health and wellbeing, and offering alternative conceptualisations to inform future interdisciplinary, situated, and globally engaged research and interventions that question what kind of mental health we are striving for and why.
A review of interventions on leisure, self-management, youth and wellbeing
In the current context of reduced levels of wellbeing and increased mental health issues among young people (Blanchflower et al., 2025; Pierce et al. 2025), the potential of leisure to enhance overall wellbeing (Dodge et al. 2012; Huppert, 2017; Mansfield et al., 2020; Mansourian, 2024) and the analysis of interventions where such potential is harnessed become particularly relevant. This presentation will focus on good practices aimed at improving the wellbeing of young people -both vulnerable and non-vulnerable youth- through leisure-based interventions. A systematic review of the literature in this field is provided, with the objective of examining the predominant theoretical and methodological approaches in the literature on good practices where leisure enables improvements in youth’s wellbeing, particularly those seeking those interventions with a self-management component. The proposal presents the results of the systematic review which was conducted in May 2026, following the PRISMA protocol by which a search in the main databases was conducted with the keywords "leisure", “self-management”, “youth” and “wellbeing” as well as “intervention”, “practice” and “vulnerability” , in Spanish and English. Based on criteria of relevance, quality, and full-text access, articles published in indexed scientific journals were selected and analysed. Main findings from the analysis revealed features or processes in leisure-based practices by which wellbeing outcomes are achieved, which allowed identifying several aspects which make interventions in leisure more effective in terms of wellbeing improvements. Some literature highlights self-managed leisure as a key factor which develops autonomy, intrinsic motivations, skills to self-regulate barriers to leisure and, ultimately, increases the levels of wellbeing among youth. Conclusions point at the need for further research addressing some identified gaps by expanding age ranges, follow longitudinal designs, or diversify methods and geographic contexts; ultimately, such research would inform agents in practice and empower youth as decision-makers in their leisure and beyond. This paper is part of the research project Self-management of leisure among young people: contexts, perception of guaranteed rights and well-being (YOUTH AUTONOMY) (REF: PID2024-157206OB-I00), funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain.
Creating Inclusive and Accessible World Language Classrooms: Supporting Students with Language-Based Learning Differences
There are increasing numbers of neurodivergent students in international school settings, many of whom present with language-based learning disabilities. In educational systems that do not offer specialized intervention programs, these students are often expected to navigate the same course sequences and academic demands as their neurotypical peers. One area where this challenge frequently emerges is in world language classrooms. While some educational systems provide exemptions from world language study for students with significant language-based learning difficulties, many international schools do not. As a result, world language teachers are tasked with supporting these learners, often with limited training, resources, or guidance. This presentation is designed to equip world language educators with practical knowledge and tools to better support students with language-based learning differences. Participants will develop an understanding of common language-based learning disabilities, including how associated strengths and challenges may manifest in world language learning. Through classroom examples and evidence-informed practices, attendees will learn how to identify potential barriers to learning, implement effective accommodations and instructional strategies, and create more accessible and inclusive language-learning environments. Participants will leave with actionable approaches they can immediately apply in their classrooms to improve engagement, participation, and success for neurodivergent learners. Scope: As international schools become increasingly diverse, world language educators are teaching growing numbers of students with neurodevelopmental differences, including language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia and developmental language disorder. In many international school settings, specialized intervention programs or exemptions from world language study are limited or unavailable, requiring students with language-based learning differences to participate in the same language curriculum as their peers. Consequently, world language teachers are expected to support a wide range of learning needs, yet often receive little formal preparation in special education or in evidence-based instructional practices. This presentation examines the intersection of language acquisition, neurodevelopment, and inclusive instructional design, providing educators with a practical framework for supporting neurodivergent learners in world language classrooms. Participants will review current research on language-based learning disabilities and their impact on second language acquisition, including the cognitive and linguistic processes that influence learning. The session will explore how these learning differences may present in classroom performance and discuss strategies for distinguishing between language acquisition challenges and underlying learning disabilities. Drawing upon evidence-based educational practices, participants will examine instructional approaches, accommodations, and classroom supports that reduce barriers to learning while maintaining high academic expectations. Practical examples will illustrate how educators can adapt instruction, assessment, and classroom routines to improve accessibility, engagement, and participation for diverse learners. The presentation will also highlight principles of inclusive education that promote equitable access to language learning across international school contexts. Attendees will leave with an evidenced-based understanding of language-based learning disabilities and a toolbox of applicable strategies to create more accessible, inclusive, and supportive world language learning environments. Objective/Motivation: World language educators are increasingly serving students with language-based learning disabilities in classrooms where specialized intervention services or exemptions from language study are unavailable. Despite this growing need, many teachers receive limited preparation in recognizing language-based learning differences or implementing evidence-based instructional support. This presentation is motivated by the need to bridge research and classroom practice by providing educators with knowledge and strategies to promote equitable access to world language learning for neurodivergent students. The objective of this session is to increase educators' understanding of common language-based learning disabilities and their impact on second language acquisition while equipping participants with evidence-informed instructional practices that support student success. Participants will examine how learning disabilities may influence language learning and explore accommodations, instructional strategies, and classroom supports that reduce barriers without lowering academic expectations. Through authentic classroom examples and practical applications, attendees will be able to identify potential learning challenges, design more accessible instruction, and foster inclusive learning environments that enable all students to meaningfully engage in world language education. By the conclusion of the session, participants will have actionable tools they can immediately implement to improve engagement, participation, and learning outcomes for students with diverse learning profiles.
Mission Vatsalya and the Changing Architecture of Child Protection in India
The subsuming of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme into Mission Vatsalya (MV) further accelerated the policy shift from institutional care towards family strengthening, prevention, convergence, and community participation in India. While contemporary scholarly focus is largely on implementation challenges, juvenile justice, or institutional care, the way MV redefines the institutional practice of child protection by reorganising the relationship among children, family, state, and experts remains underexplored. This paper examines the way MV conceptualises childhood, family responsibility and protection, and, in doing so, it analyses the way these understandings become institutionalised within India's child protection framework. The paper is based on a qualitative textual analysis of MS policy documents, operational guidelines, and child protection legislation and uses a governmentality lens. It argues that MV institutionalises family-based, expert-led, and risk-oriented approaches to protection through mechanisms of assessment, case management, and convergence. While this framework expands preventive and rights-based care, it undervalues culturally diverse caring practices and the structural conditions shaping childhood vulnerability, including caste, indigeneity, migration, labour, and social exclusion. This paper reconceptualises child protection as a mode of governance that redistributes care responsibility across families, expertise, state and community by underplaying the structural production of vulnerability in postcolonial India.
Beyond Screens and Likes: Exploring Friendship, Belonging, and Relational Understanding for Send Youth Across Digital and Offline Contexts
As digital platforms become increasingly embedded within young people’s social lives, they have emerged as important spaces for friendship, identity development, and experiences of belonging. Despite this, educational and policy responses continue to prioritise online safety, risk management, and responsible technology use, often overlooking the relational dimensions of young people’s digital experiences. This presentation introduces a doctoral research project exploring how young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) navigate friendship, belonging, and social connection across digital and offline spaces. The research is particularly timely amid growing public and policy debates concerning young people’s access to social media and digital technologies, raising important questions about how relationships are formed, maintained, and experienced across increasingly interconnected social environments. Building on the Relational Media Literacy (RML) framework, an original conceptual model developed through the researcher’s master’s research, the project reconceptualises media literacy as a social, emotional, and relational practice rather than solely a technical or critical competency. Drawing on perspectives from inclusive education, digital sociology, and relational pedagogy, the study will employ a qualitative, multi-stakeholder methodology involving SEND young people, parents, and educators. By centring the lived experiences of SEND young people, the research aims to generate new insights into friendship, belonging, and social participation across digital and offline contexts, while contributing to the development of more inclusive approaches to media literacy, digital education, and youth policy.
Faith After Displacement: Religious Meaning-Making, Trauma, And Hope Among Internally Displaced Youth in Northern Nigeria
Communal violence, Armed conflict, and insurgency have displaced millions of people across Northern Nigeria, with young people among the most affected. While existing studies have examined the humanitarian, educational, and psychosocial consequences of displacement, less attention has been paid to how internally displaced youth interpret their experiences through religious beliefs and practices. This paper explores the role of religion in shaping how displaced youth understand trauma, loss, and uncertainty and how faith contributes to sustaining hope in contexts of prolonged displacement. Drawing on the concepts of lived religion and religious coping, the study investigates the ways prayer, worship, sacred narratives, and religious communities function as resources for meaning-making, identity reconstruction, and resilience. Through the use of a qualitative research design, data will be collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with internally displaced youth aged 15–24 years in selected displacement-affected communities in Northern Nigeria. Thematic analysis will be employed to identify recurring patterns in participants’ narratives of faith, trauma, and hope. The paper argues that religion serves not merely as a coping mechanism but as a dynamic interpretive framework through which displaced youth make sense of suffering, negotiate identity, and envision hopeful futures. By foregrounding youth voices, the study contributes to scholarship on migration and youth, mental well-being, and youth, religion, and culture in conflict-affected societies.
Parenting Skills Training Needs of Families with Young Children in Saudi Arabia: A Mixed-Methods Study
Parenting programmes have demonstrated effectiveness in improving child behaviour and preventing child abuse; however, limited evidence exists regarding the parenting support needs of families in Saudi Arabia. This study explored parents' training needs in parenting skills among parents raising children aged 2–9 years. It also examined contextual factors that influence the adaptation of the Parenting for Lifelong Health Programme for Young Children (PLH-YC) in the Saudi context. A mixed-methods design was utilised. Quantitative data were collected from 248 parents using a questionnaire incorporating the Parenting Daily Hassles Scale, while qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 5 parenting trainers. Data were analysed to identify children’s behavioural challenges, parental skill needs, and contextual influences on parenting and programme delivery. Findings revealed that religion functions as a central framework shaping parenting beliefs and practices in Saudi Arabia. Parents reported behavioural challenges among children, including stubbornness, excessive use of smart devices, and a lack of responsibility. In addition, gaps in parenting knowledge and reliance on informal sources of advice highlighted the need for greater access to evidence-based parenting support. Trainers emphasised the importance of positive reinforcement, emotional communication, and parental role modelling, which strongly aligned with the PLH-YC framework. Factors influencing programme implementation included low father engagement, unrealistic parental expectations, and the need for ongoing evaluation and adaptation. The findings provide practical guidance for adapting PLH-YC and developing parenting interventions in the context of Saudi families.
Silenced by Design: the Children’s Right to participate in Stellenbosch’s Municipal Decision-Making
Children and young people bear the greatest long-term consequences of local governance decisions, yet their exclusion from local government processes in South Africa is not accidental. It is structurally embedded in participation mechanisms designed for an adult citizenry. This exclusion contravenes a multi-layered constitutional, statutory, and policy framework that imposes enforceable participation obligations on local government. For example, ss 152(1)(e) and 153 of the Constitution establish community participation as a foundational object of local government and a developmental duty. Furthermore, s 28(2) requires that a child's best interests be the primary consideration in all matters concerning the child, a standard applicable to municipal planning and budgeting. The Local Government: Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000, the Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998, the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, the White Paper on Local Government, and the Batho Pele Principles collectively reinforce this obligation. A significant gap exists, however, as none of these instruments expressly obliges local government to design participation mechanisms accessible to children. A case study of Stellenbosch Municipality exposes three sites of this structural silencing. In the Integrated Development Planning process, the municipal budget cycle, and climate adaptation planning, children in Kayamandi, Enkanini, and peri-urban farm worker settlements are rendered constitutionally invisible. This paper proposes a Municipal Youth Participation Protocol, based on five legal enforcement pathways and obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to dismantle this structural silencing and establish participation as an enforceable constitutional right for children.
The Role of Conversation in Children’s Co-Construction of Gender Norms
This presentation highlights a key finding from PhD research around how children use peer dynamics within social settings to co-construct gender norms. It draws on PhD research carried out with children in years 3 and 5 in a Birmingham primary school, exploring how they constructed and negotiated gender discourses through their writing, drawing and talk. Focusing on the talk element of the research design, this presentation reflects upon findings from focus group conversations exploring children’s perceptions of gender norms, specifically ways of being and behaving. It was found that children used allyship and banter to manipulate power dynamics within the group, and this had both a direct and indirect impact on the co-construction of discourses and norms around gender. Poststructuralist theories of power (Foucault), positioning (Davies and Harré) and performativity (Butler) illuminate ways in which children both perpetuate and challenge dominant gender norms, pointing to the power of conversation for discursive shift. This finding is reflected upon in relation to opportunities for talk within the classroom.
Are Parents Good Judges of Their Children’s Prospective Memory? Correspondence Between Parental Reports and Task Performance in Early School-Aged Children
Prospective memory, defined as the ability to remember to perform intended actions in the future, plays an important role in children’s everyday functioning, their gradual development of independence, and their ability to meet increasing educational demands. As children enter formal education, expectations regarding their ability to manage prospective tasks increase significantly. Despite growing research in this area, relatively little is known about how parental reports correspond with children’s performance on prospective memory tasks. The present study aims to examine the correspondence between parental reports and children’s task performance in early school-aged children. Particular attention is given to potential discrepancies between different sources of data, which may reflect complementary aspects of children’s functioning rather than simple inaccuracy. The study involves children aged 6-7 years from diverse educational settings. A multi-method approach is used, combining performance-based assessment with caregiver-reported measures of children’s everyday prospective memory and broader everyday functioning. Additional cognitive factors relevant to goal-directed behaviour are considered to provide a broader developmental context. Data collection is ongoing. The poster will present the study rationale, methodological framework, and preliminary observations, with particular emphasis on the relationships between different sources of data and their implications for educational practice and parent-child interactions. The project is expected to contribute to a better understanding of the role of parental perception in shaping developmental and educational outcomes.
Coloniality, Bordering and Childhood on the Lesotho-South Africa Border: Representations and Narratives of School Children and Students from Lesotho
Drawing on oral, written, and art-based testimonies collected in 2021 under the NIHSS-funded UFS Borderlands Project, this paper examines the border representations and narratives of school pupils and students who commute daily from Lesotho to attend schools in South African border towns. Situated within the decolonial tradition and drawing on the concept of the coloniality of power, it interrogates the Lesotho-South Africa border as a colonial artefact that continues to produce violence, suffering, criminality, sexual harassment and rape, and subalternity long after the formal end of colonialism and apartheid. Deploying an art-based draw-and-write methodology – an innovative approach that privileges ‘voices from below’, the paper captures the border experiences of a peripheral and understudied demographic – cross-border school-going children and students. The paper argues that the Lesotho-South Africa border is not merely a geopolitical line, but a colonial matrix of power that structures asymmetrical relations of race, class, age and nationality. It further argues that children, as meaning-producing agents, constitute a critical but neglected epistemological resource in border studies. The voices of pupils reveal the border as simultaneously a zone of violence, racial discrimination, family rupture, educational aspiration, and decolonial consciousness. The paper concludes with an unambiguous call for the decolonization of African borders and their eventual deborderization in the spirit of African continental integration.
Narratives of harm and safeguarding in response to the virality of Everyone’s Invited
Drawing from my doctoral research I will explore the context and development of narratives of harm and safeguarding in relation to sexual abuse between secondary age students with a focus on how these developed in response to the virality of the website Everyone’s Invited, which allowed the posting of first-hand accounts of abuse. My research combines Cultural-Historical Activity Theory with a Narrative Policy Framework approach to show how the source of the narrative and other contextual factors impact the way that problems, heroes, villains, and solutions are conceptualised and developed. Starting with the changing media and policy landscape I will summarise the complex and contradictory situation that existed in the late 2010s before covering how this developed into the narratives that emerged out of the Everyone’s Invited and the media response to it. I will then consider how these narratives informed the narratives of harm and safeguarding used by school safeguarding leads as they sought to respond to the media storm. Across these narrative developments I will emphasise the tension between individual and structural causal explanations, including the role of technology, and the different solutions that resulted. To conclude I will briefly reflect on how these narratives have subsequently developed as the discussion of gender-based violence in schools continues to develop at a fast pace.
Achievement Pressure and Intensive Parenting in Gifted Education Contexts:Implications for Maternal Wellbeing and Parent–Child Relationships
Within high-pressure academic environments, the pursuit of elite educational placement often encourages intensive maternal attitudes. This quantitative cross-sectional study utilizes structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine how these attitudes influence maternal wellbeing and parent–child relational dynamics. Data were collected from 301 mother–daughter dyads in Tehran during active preparation for gifted school entrance examinations. The research investigates the impact of intensive parenting paradigms—characterized by heightened parental involvement and strong child-centered expectations—on maternal psychological wellbeing and the quality of the parent–child relationship. Empirical results demonstrate that intensive maternal attitudes are significantly negatively associated with maternal mental health (β = −0.236, p < .001) and significantly negatively associated with parent–child relationship quality (β = −0.192, p < .004). Indirect effects further highlighted the mediating role of maternal wellbeing and parent–child relationship quality within high-pressure educational contexts. The findings suggest that achievement-oriented educational cultures may reinforce parenting expectations that position mothers as primarily responsible for continuously optimizing children’s academic and developmental success, creating psychological and relational strain within the family environment. By examining gifted education culture through parent–child relational dynamics, this study highlights the importance of fostering balanced interactions and supporting maternal wellbeing to mitigate relational strains that may emerge within competitive academic environments.
The Youth Mandate: Examining the Rise of Climate Activism as a Catalyst for Global Policy Reform
The escalating climate crisis has positioned the younger generation as primary drivers of contemporary political change. This paper examines the "Youth Mandate"—the phenomenon where youth-led movements, such as Fridays for Future, exert pressure on international policy. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study analyses legislative shifts in G20 nations following major youth mobilizations between 2018 and 2025. Preliminary findings indicate a correlation between localized youth protests and the adoption of aggressive carbon-neutrality targets. The paper concludes by arguing for the institutionalization of youth participation within core policy-making processes.
Orphan Care Versus Family Care: An Ideological Study on Children in Orphanages and Foster Care vs Children in Families
This research analyses the representation of orphanhood in literature, contrasting traditional family care, foster care, and orphanages. Based on historical, sociological, and literary analysis, the paper investigates the changing constructs of orphans and their depiction in classical, Victorian, and contemporary literature. It analyses the social and psychological consequences of orphanhood, with special attention to prominent literary characters like Oliver Twist, Jane Eyre, Huckleberry Finn, and Harry Potter. The research compares emotional security within home environments to institutional care challenges and resilience built through alternative caregiving systems. By critically interrogating literary and academic writing, the research emphasizes a call for rehabilitated perceptions of foster care and orphanages, both in literature and social policy. The results confirm that literature determines public opinion concerning child welfare by reinforcing either sympathy.
The Optional Protocol on a Communications Procedure and the Limits of Universality in International Child Rights Protection
This paper argues that the optional status of the Optional Protocol on a Communications Procedure (OPIC) to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) fundamentally undermines the principle of universality in human rights law. Optional protocols often contain more demanding obligations, such as accepting external adjudication and reputational consequences, which states resist due to fears of politically motivated complaints, preference for domestic sovereignty, and lack of political will. This optional status creates unequal access to justice, as only 48 states had ratified the OPIC as of 2021, systematically denying children in non-ratifying states (like Nigeria, cited as an example) access to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, even in cases of grave violations. This "geographical lottery" prioritizes state sovereignty over the child's right to remedy, contradicting the UNCRC's emphasis on the child's right to be heard and state accountability. The OPIC is intended as a last-resort complement to domestic justice, not a replacement. To encourage wider ratification, the paper recommends two practical steps: strategically using the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to apply pressure on non-ratifying states and integrating the OPIC into accession criteria or political dialogues within regional human rights systems. It concludes that a global child rights treaty that excludes millions of children from international justice based solely on their country of residence cannot claim full legitimacy.
Combatting Child Marriage and The Intergenerational Sexual Abuse of Girls in South Africa
Legal and policy frameworks governing marriage in many African countries are often framed as gender-neutral, yet they fail to address the deeply gendered realities of child marriage and sexual exploitation and abuse. Empirical evidence consistently demonstrates that child marriage disproportionately affects girls, with significantly fewer boys subjected to the practice. Rather than ensuring equal protection and benefit of the law, existing legal regimes frequently entrench gender inequality by permitting exceptions to the minimum age of marriage or prescribing lower marriageable ages for girls, thereby legitimising harmful practices through legal loopholes. The paper illustrates how current marriage laws in South Africa violate girls’ rights to equality and freedom from sexual exploitation. Girls aged 15 and older may marry without ministerial or judicial consent, whereas all boys under the age of 18 require such approval. This disparity leaves girls uniquely vulnerable and under-protected, reinforcing patriarchal norms through discrimination embedded in legislation. Adopting a feminist and intersectional lens, the paper examines how customary practices continue to legitimise child marriage. When these practices intersect with gender-discriminatory laws, they intensify girls’ vulnerability. The paper analyses international and domestic laws to assess their gender sensitivity in responding to early and forced marriage. It concludes by calling for urgent legal and policy reform, alongside dismantling patriarchal structures and recognising diverse lived realities of girlhood, as essential to achieving equal protection for all children globally.
Beyond Homework Battles: AI‑Assisted Learning Guidance and Parent–Child Relationships in Hong Kong SEN Families
Hong Kong’s exam oriented education system and limited provision for students with special educational needs (SEN) place substantial strain on parents, and school assigned tasks for home completion can further exacerbate intergenerational conflict. This paper examines how generative AI might be used as a co mentoring tool in the home to reduce this strain, support learning, and strengthen relationships between parents and their SEN children in Primary 3–4. Drawing on evidence that Hong Kong SEN parents experience elevated stress, role overload, and feelings of incompetence, it argues that these pressures undermine communication and emotional attunement during homework and skills practice. The paper then considers recent developments in AI mediated personalisation—including the adaptation of task difficulty, the generation of interest based materials, and the production of social stories or visual supports tailored to children’s SEN profiles—and discusses how these affordances could be harnessed by parents. Building on this rationale, a constructivist framework for AI assisted co learning is proposed, in which parents are trained to co design AI supported activities and to shift from directive, correction focused teaching towards more collaborative, exploratory problem solving and positive feedback cycles. Finally, the paper outlines a mixed methods study to investigate changes in parent–child communication, stress, and perceived closeness when families adopt structured, AI supported home co learning routines. It is anticipated that this work will generate design principles for parent training programmes using AI tools that prioritise relational quality alongside academic outcomes.
Understanding Social Climate and BehaviouralOutcomes in Young Offender Institutions: A Mixed-Methods Study of Young People and Staff Perspectives
Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) house some of the most vulnerable children in society, many of whom present with complex trauma, developmental needs, and disrupted attachments. Despite this, the social and relational environments within YOIs remain underexplored. This doctoral research aims to investigate the social climate of a YOI in the United Kingdom through a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative perspectives from both young people and prison officers. Quantitative data will be collected using the validated Essen Climate Evaluation Schema (EssenCES) to assess perceptions of safety, support, and cohesion. Qualitative interviews will explore lived experiences of relationships, emotional safety, and institutional culture. Additionally, anonymised adjudication data will be analysed to determine whether negative perceptions of social climate are associated with higher levels of disciplinary incidents. By combining self-reported and operational data, this study seeks to identify relational and environmental factors that influence wellbeing, behaviour, and rehabilitation. The findings will contribute to policy and practice aimed at creating safer, more developmentally appropriate, and trauma-informed custodial settings for young people, aligning with current HM Prison and Probation Service priorities for improving decency, safety, and relational trust within the youth secure estate.
Copyright (c) 2025 Abstract Books of the Global Conference on Children and Youth
How Children in Urban Poverty Experience Alienation at School: A Theoretical Exploration of Exclusion Practices Using Bourdieu’s Habitus
Bourdieu’s concept of “cultural capital” revealed how educational practices selectively rewarded those possessing language, values and beliefs central to the bourgeoisie. This leads to alienation of children living in urban poverty who lack cultural capital. Existing scholarship that focuses heavily on cultural capital alone demonstrates which belief systems and values are preferred in the education system. There is silence on the nature and depth of alienation itself. As a result, its debilitating impact on the lives of children in urban poverty remains unseen. This paper argues for deeper theoretical understanding of alienation experienced by children in urban poverty within the Indian schools. To accomplish this, the paper foregrounds the concept of habitus with cultural capital. Habitus provides the conceptual machinery to explain the historically-embodied nature of alienation. Understanding habitus within the material and relational context of urban poverty reveals how historical and cultural processes (such as migration, communal violence, deprivation) lead to deeply embodied dispositions and schemes of perception that further reinforce alienation. Historically, institutional practices of schooling have misrecognized the embodied nature of exclusion. Foregrounding of habitus with cultural capital provides a lens to critically examine schooling practices. This creates dialogue towards dismantling alienating tendencies within the schools.