Listening the voices of childhood. A change of perspective through the school

Abstract

In a global context in which an adult-centered vision of Childhood predominates, children are limited in their participatory possibilities and, in particular, when it comes to social and political issues, in which they are practically invisible to adult society. This article aims to promote the role of boys and girls as participatory agents in social-political issues through the school. Under the theoretical perspective of the New Sociology of Childhood, qualitative research is carried out in a school in Spain, using group photo-interviews based on thematic proposals such as gender violence, pollution, social marginalization or immigration and individual productions, such as drawings or narratives, based on the approach of the question “what do you think would happen if the children could vote in the elections?” to children between 9 and 12 years old. The results highlighted the socio-political perspectives of the participants, placing the school as a true space for participation and driving social change.