ABSTRACT
A number of the earlier chapters in this Handbook have signalled the possibilities for children’s participation to contribute positively to children’s lives, while at the same time acknowledging the unresolved tensions, ambiguities and social power relations that undermine its emancipatory potential.1 In this chapter, we approach children’s participation as a struggle over recognition so as to further explore its increasingly complex and contested nature (Honneth 1995; Taylor 1995; Tully 2004). Such a conceptualisation enables us to reflect on the politicohistorical conditions that have shaped the theory and practice of participation, including where and how children have been located within emerging discourses. Conceptualising participation as a struggle over recognition is also useful because it focuses on participation as a negotiated space that is dialogical rather than monological in nature, which, in turn, more adequately captures the mutual and interconnected layering of children’s participation. We conclude by exploring some of the possibilities and implications for both theory and practice when participation is conceptualised as a struggle over recognition.
