Children as Service Evaluators

Abstract

In recent years there has been a growing interest in methods of eliciting children's views on factors influencing their lives. When children's views are sought it is important that this is done in a developmentally appropriate manner with instruments whose psychometric properties are known. The present review describes a variety of methods that have been used to evaluate children's satisfaction with services in education, paediatrics and mental health. The majority of the studies used self-completion questionnaires and provided only limited information on reliability. Means of establishing reliability and validity in research with children are discussed, as are the variables that have been found to correlate with child satisfaction.

Participation of disabled children in individual decisions about their lives and in public decisions about service development

“…A multilayered approach is required to promote the participation of disabled children and young people, which combines listening to them in ways tailored to them as individuals with a recognition that they are consumers of both specialised services and those utilised by their peer group as a whole. Knowledge is available from the specialised studies indicated above and from the larger body of work about participation in decision-making of children as a whole, although even here much development work remains to be done (see, for example, Hennessy, 1999;Dixon-Woods and others, 1999). Both bodies of information provide practitioners and policy makers with examples of innovatory work, but the quality of this evidence is sometimes diminished by a lack of methodological information, for example about sample selection or means of data analysis.…”

Listening and responding? Children's participation in health care within England

“…Some barriers identified pertain to the complexity and bureaucratic nature of organisations (Matthews, 2001;Kirby and Bryson, 2002, Kirby et al, 2003a, 2003b; to adult attitudes, particularly concerning the capabilities and competence of children, and the need to protect children (Matthews, 2001;Bell et al, 2002;Kirby and Bryson, 2002); to a lack of relevant training and support for adult facilitators and young people participating (Kirby and Bryson, 2002); a lack of research evidence to support participatory activities (Dixon-Woods et al, 1999;Hennessy, 1999); and practical barriers such as time, resources and dedicated funding (NcNeish and Newman, 2002). …”

“…The need for staff training and skills development in order to promote participation in decision-making by children is highlighted in several studies (Hennessy, 1999;McNeish et al, 2000;Children's Taskforce, Department of Health, 2001;Kirby and Bryson, 2002;McNeish and Newman, 2002;Sloper, 2002, 2003;Kilgour, 2002). Attitudinal changes in health professionals are required about childhood and adolescence, particularly concerning consent and competence (Alderson and Montgomery, 1996);about communication (Beresford and Sloper, 1999); and about the idea of partnership between healthcare professionals and their patients (Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry, 2001).…”

Bridging the Gap between the Science Curriculum and Students’ Questions: Comparing Linear vs. Hypermedia Online Learning Environments

“…Over the last decades, there has been growing interest in giving students a voice in decision making about factors that influence their lives in school (Hennessy, 1999). Incorporating students' voice into decision making is viewed as a useful and pragmatic practice (Davie & Galloway, 1996) and gives students a sense of ownership (Hennessy, 1999).…”

“…Incorporating students' voice into decision making is viewed as a useful and pragmatic practice (Davie & Galloway, 1996) and gives students a sense of ownership (Hennessy, 1999).…”