Social inclusion and children in Australia

Abstract

Social inclusion is a broad concept that has multiple meanings. Studies on how social inclusion is being understood by policy stakeholders often focus on the perspectives of a single group of policy stakeholders such as policymakers or service users. However, it is through the relations that these different policy stakeholders have with each other that construct and co-construct the discourse of social inclusion. In particular, children deemed to be socially excluded are the focus of the social inclusion agenda in Australia, but what social inclusion means to them is unclear. Therefore, this thesis seeks to compare the different perspectives of social inclusion from policymakers, service providers and children facing multiple disadvantages. By understanding these different or similar interpretations of social inclusion, this thesis examines how these interpretations shape social inclusion policies and services for children. This thesis uses a combination of research methods - discourse analysis on key policy texts published by government agencies and service providers, interviews and focus groups with policymakers, service providers and older children, as well as craft activities for younger children. Findings from this thesis show that policymakers and service providers share a broad understanding of social inclusion but children's accounts of their experiences of social inclusion are missing in the policy discourse of social inclusion. In particular, the policy discourse and practices of social inclusion programmes reveal the different social constructions of children that contradicts children's own experiences and understanding of what social inclusion means. This thesis argues that when children are treated as co-narrators of the social inclusion discourse, they will bring new narratives that suggest ways of translating the values of dignity, respect and fairness into policy practice. In particular, when social policies are based on rights of 'being', the policy shifts from changing individuals' behaviour to removing structural barriers that prevent people from exercising their rights. Similarly, a children's rights perspective on social inclusion will focus less on control or disciplining children into ideal citizens, and more on creating opportunities in policy and service designs that enable children to exercise their right to participate in matters important to them.