Award in Theory and Practice of Empowering Children’s Voices: Transforming Child Participation in the School and Educational Context | Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society

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Title: Award in Theory and Practice of Empowering Children’s Voices: Transforming Child Participation in the School and Educational context

MQF/EQF: 7
ECTS: 3

Mode of Delivery: Face-to-face lectures, including presentations, workshops, discussions, reflections, collaborative/co-operative work and academic readings.

Programme Duration: 14 weeks

Languages of Instruction: English

Accreditation Category: Further education course/programme

Course Description

This course is designed to emphasise the importance of giving children a voice in their educational school setting and to equip educators with the understanding and the necessary tools to foster child participation in the various school and educational contexts. The course is rooted in the belief that when children actively participate in their educational journey, their experiences are more engaging, inclusive, and responsive to their learning.

This course aims to potentially motivate educators to transform their approaches in their educational setting and transmit this through communication and reflection. This course will allow educators to recognise the value of child participation and that children’s voices should not only be heard but should be integral to the decision-making process. It will help educators reflect more on the pedagogy of participation and thus learn how to promote the ideals of equity, equality and co-agency in the classroom, the school community and in turn society. It will also help educators reflect and understand their obligation of facilitating and empowering children to exercise their right of participation as ratified in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

During the course, the educators will understand how children can be empowered to assess their learning methods and so assess the ideal teaching approaches; participate beyond the classroom environment and look into the school governance, project planning, beneficial health and wellbeing practices and the designing of the overall school environment. The learner educators will learn to reflect more on their daily practices across the various contexts of school and understand how they can foster participatory practices.

Through this course, the learner educators will contribute to their personal growth by pursuing the understanding of participation from their individual interest point of view, while they will also be able to empower their students to grow and develop in a more democratic and compassionate educational culture.

Total Contact Hours: 15

Self-Study Hours: 35

Assessment Hours: 25

Total Learning Hours: 75

Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes
Competences	At the end of the module/ unit, the learner will have acquired the responsibility and autonomy to: a) Create an educational environment that reflects the principles of democracy and participation informed by research outcomes. b) Collaborate with children and colleagues in the management of a project advocating for children’s rights and voice in the context of the school. c) Apply self-direction and autonomy so as to enable a democratic change in schools through effective communication. d) Reflect on learning the pedagogical approaches and methods that transform the educational environment in one that helps, supports, and empowers children to participate.
Knowledge	The learner will be able to: a) Demonstrate a critical knowledge of pedagogies and strategies of advocacy that empower children by promoting their participation in the various educational contexts. b) Evaluate different teaching and learning strategies in order to facilitate children’s active participation in educational projects, in the design of inclusive environment and engagement in school governance. c) Adapt teaching and learning methods informed by distinctive pedagogies that promote participation and democracy in the classroom. d) Design curriculum development or review processes that incorporate children’s suggestions and ideas.
Skills · Module-specific learner skills · Module-specific digital skills & competencies	At the end of the module/ unit, the learner will have acquired the following skills: a) Reflect on their learning throughout this module, specifically highlighting the ways in which it has transformed their conceptual knowledge and practice with children. b) Evaluate different teaching and learning strategies (e.g. conflict resolution, inclusive dialogue, active learning, child-led projects) for the way they might facilitate child participation and democratic relationships. c) Communicate the complexity of the theory, the practice of advocacy and, the participatory pedagogy to an academic audience. d) Analyse a specific educational context in order to arrive at new solutions (informed by research and theory) to promote child participation.

Requirements

An MQF Level 6 qualification (minimum of 180 ECTS) in disciplines of education or early childhood education and care.

Target Group: KGEs, LSEs, Teachers, Assistant Heads of School, Heads of Department, Heads of School, Education Officers, School Counsellors

Assessment Methods

15 minute individual presentation- 30%
Reflective Journal of up to 2000 words – 70%

Grading System

Pass mark: 45

Grading system as per below:

Mark Range	Grade
90%-100%	A+
80%-89%	A
75%-79%	B+
70%-74%	B
60%-69%	C+
55%-59%	C
50%-54%	D+
45%-49%	D
0%-44%	F

Reading List

Core Reading List

Percy-Smith,B., Patrick-Thomas, N. (2011). A handbook of children and young people’s participation: Perspectives from Theory and Practice. Routledge, New York.
Desai, M., Shetal, G. (2018). Child rights Education for participation and development: Primary Prevention, Child’s Rights and You, Springer, Singapore.
Satariano, B. (2023). A toolkit for promoting child participation. The Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society.
Lundy, L., Murray, C., Smith, K., Ward, C. (2024) Young children’s right to be heard on the quality of their education: Addressing potential misunderstandings n the context of early childhood education. British Educational Research Journal, 00, 1-15.

Supplementary Reading List

John-Akinola, Y.O., Nic-Gabhainn, S. (2014). Children’s participation in school: a cross-sectional study of the relationship between school environments, participation and health and well-being outcomes BMC Public Health, 14:964.
Forde, C., Horgan, D., Martin, S., Parkes, A. (2018). Learning from children’s voice in schools: Experiences from Ireland. Journal of Educational Change, 19:489–509.
Gamsjager, M., Langer, R. (2019). Democracy learning as failing template for establishing student participation for school improvement: A participatory case study within a secondary school, Research in Education, Vol. 103(1) 68–84.
Manahasa, O., Ozsoy, A., Manahasa, E. (2021). Evaluative, inclusive, participatory: Developing a new language with children for school building design. Building and Environment 188, 107374.

Registration and Fees

For registration or further information, please send an email on: info@mfws.gov.mt

Next intake dates: TBC (To be Confirmed)

Course Fees: TBC (To be Confirmed)

About the Awarding Body

The Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society became a licensed higher education training institute in June 2024.

Licence Type: Further and Higher Education Institution

Licence Number: 2024-021

Location
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