Talking with children: Professional conversations in a participation perspective

Abstract

How to talk with children is of great concern in many fields of professional practice, though conversations have various statuses within different contexts. The discussion of children’s rights to participation emphasized by The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC; United Nations, 1989 ) raises a number of questions about the significance of professional talking practices. A rights-based rationale is just one of many for talking with children. In this article, the question of how to talk with children as well as the question of how to analyze talk with children are addressed. Three possible analytical perspectives on participation and professional conversations are discussed: conversations as means for participation, participation as a theme in conversations, and conversations as a form of participation. The last one is employed in the analyses. To identify and conceptualize challenges in professional talking practices, I argue that a broader participation concept then the one offered in the UNCRC is required. Methodological discussions from research with children are made relevant for the discussion of professional practice. Drawing from empirical examples of 55 audio-recorded and transcribed conversations between child welfare workers and children in the action research project “Talk with us”—Professional practices and children’s participation, selected aspects of professional conversations with children are discussed: negotiating contracts, normative inquiries, and exploring labels. Conversations are analyzed as intergenerational practices, while children and adult professionals are analyzed as differently positioned participants in joint meaning-producing activities. Finally, normativity and the relation between process and result in studies of professional conversations with children are discussed.