Participación de niños, niñas y adolescentes en tiempos de crisis social : una mirada desde sus voces y saberes

Abstract

This research is linked to the research line "children's narratives and life stories" of the Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, which had the objective of identifying the conceptions and ways in which children and adolescents participate in the different contexts they inhabit. This is under the qualitative and ethnographic methodology, from which stories were collected that allowed to reveal various forms of child participation and the respective conditions that favor the exercise of this right. The process from which the research was developed is framed in the following phases: background research where the situation and relevant aspects of child participation at local, national and international level were evidenced. The second focused on the construction of the state of knowledge, where we delved into various theoretical positions in relation to language, narratives, childhood, culture and development, demonstrating that the formation of a participatory position is crossed by a historical construction of childhood and by the acquisition of skills that allow expression and negotiation with otherness. The third phase corresponds to the methodology where interviews, workshops and dialogue made it possible to find findings in response to the question: How do children define child participation and how do they practice it in times of crisis? providing notions regarding the different forms of child participation and the needs related to it. As a result of this research process, and through the case study of children and adolescents in the city of Bogota, a reflection is made from their voices and feelings on the meaning of the exercise of participation and the challenges that arise at the family, social and educational levels for its materialization.