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Reflecting on where you are now …
Models of participation
Hart’s – Ladder of participation
Hart’s ladder of participation distinguishes between different levels of participation, ranging from 1 to 8. The first rung of the ladder is called ‘manipulation’ rising to the final rung of ‘child-initiated, shared decisions with adults’. Therefore, at the top of the ladder there are activities initiated by children and decisions about these activities are shared by children and adults. The bottom rungs reflect activities that are initiated and decided by adults. The ladder is a useful representation of the levels of children’s inclusion in decision-making. Hart’s typology was designed in relation to participation in projects, rather than decision making in day to day care, yet it usefully describes a variety of understandings and ways of working in relation to the concept of participatory practices. The rungs of Hart’s ladder are:
- Manipulation
- Decoration
- Tokenism
- Assigned but informed
- Consulted and informed
- Adult-initiated, shared decisions with children
- Child-initiated and directed
- Child-initiated, shared decisions with adults (Hart, 1992)
Shier’s – Five levels of participation
Shier builds on Hart’s ladder of participation and sets out five levels. The five levels of Shier’s model are participation which:
- Level 1: enables the child to express a view but has no direct implication on a professional to do so
- Level 2: supports the child to express their views and the professional is taking direct action to elicit them, through appropriate age and communication consultation techniques
- Level 3: accounts for and incorporates the view of the child which is given due weight in the consideration of the outcome alongside other factors
- Level 4: actively involves the child in decision-making, away from being purely consultative as the child should be directly involved within the final decision
- Level 5: shares the responsibility with child in making a joint decision
Shier also identified what, how and why adults who wished to implement participation practice in their work needed to consider to achieve the five levels:
The opening: a willingness of the adult to help children express their views
The opportunity: how and in what way adults give children the opportunity to express their views, considering different ways of communicating using specific techniques and age appropriate communication skills, and this may include making specific difference to the way the process is formulated
The obligation: seeks to incorporate the process of participation at any of the levels and embed the practice into the culture and policy of the organisation
