Democratic societies are
defined by the values and
principles of both
individuals and
organisations.
The basic principles defining
democracy could be considered as;
the right to vote, respect for diversity,
equality, privacy, freedom of
expression, justice and egalitarianism
Democracy and the language associated
with democracy are important everyday
values that should be embedded in the
relationships of practitioners working with
children and young people
Democratic values aim to promote positive ways in
which these relationships can be developed e.g.
treating people with respect, empowering individuals
and promoting inclusion.
Demos states the idea of everyday democracy
means empowering individuals over decisions that
affect their lives, whilst encouraging them to be the
owner of their own script
Foley (2011) supports the view
of Demos that everyday
democracy involves families,
community, services and the
spaces they occupy
Foley (2011) argues there is often an
in-balance of power, meaning adults and
children often have very different
experiences of everyday democracy. For
example, Foley (2011) states, within a
school environment children are not
empowered to decide what and how they
study because adults often excerpt power
over processes and outcomes
Foley (2011) mentions that policy and and practice in the UK is
changing to find better ways of involving children and young
people in decision making. For example, many schools are now
participating in schools councils such as “Hear by Right” which
aims to promote the views of children and young people by
incorporating them in decision making, which in-turn helps
promote democratic language and values
It is essential that all practitioners working with children
and young people promote values which uphold ethical
practice. Values should be considered alongside
practice codes, principles and rules to ensure ethical
practice when making decisions
However, it is important to consider that the
decisions being made by practitioners may also be
affected by their own personal values, principles
and beliefs. These personal values could have a
major influence on how practitioners engage with
children and young people in practice
We see an example of good practice values in
audio clip 2.4 where Lesley a health worker
states that values are important in her role
because it reminds her to be “non-judgemental
and open-minded when working with different
types of families”
These are typical everyday democratic
values that should be used by practitioners to
promote good practice behaviours
In-contrast practitioners can also adopt bad practice
behaviours which are based on their own personal values
and beliefs. For example, a researcher named Chak (2011),
described how after observing a child playing she quickly
stereotyped her as “nosy and bossy”. The researcher was
making assumptions based on her personal values, rather
than a professional observation which could have a negative
effect on how she interacts with this child
To reduce incidents like this, legislation
and rights frameworks can be used by
practitioners to guide practice and ensure
democracy and ethical practice values are
being upheld
For example, key legislation frameworks such as, the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) promotes three
key areas; participation, protection and provision. Practitioners can
use such frameworks when approaching issues such as,
discrimination, diversity and inequality to ensure they adopt good
practice behaviours
For example, a traveller lady stated she “feared
hostility as more people are turning against
gypsy families”. In situations like this,
practitioners working with families from minority
groups should try to maintain good practice and
democratic values by respecting diversity and
promoting inclusion. For instance, this could be
achieved by ensuring these families are aware
of, and have access to, the same services as
non-minority families e.g. health, education and
social care services.
Davies (2011) believes that empowering
children and young people is an essential part
of her practice. Davies (2011) focuses on
values that share power and knowledge with
children and young people rather than being
an authoritative figure.
Examples of the values used by Davies (2011) were
seen in a case study of a child named Zoe who was
encouraged to explore and discuss her experience of
a family break-up using the metaphor of “Doctor Who
and Martha”. Davies (2011) believes it is important for
children to explore and find their own solutions for the
problems they face
Davies (2011) encourages this through
the use of dialogue and role-play, which
empowers the child to lead the session,
rather than being led by the counsellor.
Davies (2011) used the storyboard so Zoe
could discuss how she felt rather than
directly asking her about her feelings. This
proved to be effective as once Zoe
explored her feelings and emotions it
helped her improve her relationship with
her Father
Practitioners working with children and young
people need to ensure they combine their practice
knowledges and training alongside the life
experiences of the children and families they work
with. The town of Reggio Emilia (Italy) created an
early childhood programme which focused on a
practice concept known as a “pedagogy of
listening”
Reggio described this concept as listening to
children and families to fully understand their
questions, ideas and thoughts, then utilising this
knowledge with serious respect to understand any
issues, without bringing preconceived ideas or
values
A ‘pedagogy of listening’ is a key democratic value for
practitioners working with children and young people,
because it encourages listening and respect. The views and
opinions of the people which need their guidance are
considered alongside the practitioners own knowledges and
practice approaches
For instance, a ‘pedagogy of listening’ can be very useful when practitioners are assessing the needs of a
child with a disability. Practitioners can observe behaviour whilst also considering the experiences and views
of the child's parents, thus creating a wider, more detailed picture of the issues which need to be addressed
As seen by Goodley and Runswick-Cole (2011) whilst interviewing parents with children of various
disabilitiey's they discovered that clinical diagnoses were often “useless” because the practitioners were
simply labelling children with a diagnosis based on observations in a clinical environment.
The parents mentioned they felt better guidance was
given through support groups which gave them
opportunity to talk about their children as individuals
openly, whilst listening to experiences of other parents
in similar situations
A ‘pedagogy of listening’ could have been used by practitioners in this instance to fully understand and
develop a more detailed picture of the child's disability by listening to the parents and encouraging an open
dialogue rather than giving a purely medical diagnosis.
Practitioners working with children must balance their own values alongside professional
codes of conduct and the legal boundaries within their practice settings. Davies (2011)
mentions that part of her role as a counsellor is to uphold the legal responsibility of
safeguarding and protecting children from potential harm, whilst also respecting their
confidentiality and wishes.
Davies (2011) achieves this by clearly explaining the legal,
professional and ethical constraints before a counselling session
so that the child understands that she may not be able to keep
certain information confidential
The information will only remain private if
Davies (2011) feels they are not at risk or in
any harm. In situations where there is a
potential risk, it is vital for practitioners to
share information with other professionals or
family members to help safeguard the child
Democratic values and the language
associated with democracy is often
experienced differently by children and
adults
Individuals and practitioners
often have competing views
over which values should take
priority. In the learning guide
we see an example of a
young person recalling his
experience of mistreatment
from his step family and the
consequences resulting in a
series of foster placements
The young person
expresses that he feels
let down by the adults
and practitioners that
were supposed to be
supporting him because
they did not recognised
which values are
important to him
Respect was a key value for this
young person, which got
overlooked he mentions that
small details like the correct
spelling of his name was
particularly important because it
was “all he had left that gave him
an identity”
Secondly, he mentions that
social workers need to respect
his privacy, because sometimes
he just wanted to be left alone
but they kept bothering him. The
young person also mentions that
social workers often didn't listen
to his needs, making him feel
powerless
As stated by Davies (2011)
empowerment is a key
democratic value which
involves listening to the needs
of the young person and
empowering them to find
solutions. Therefore, this
account highlights why it is
vital that practitioners working
with children and young
people uphold basic
democratic values such as
respect, privacy and
empowerment alongside their
professional codes of conduct
because a combination of
these values promote good
practice behaviours which in
turn help to maintain good
relationships