Child participation in the protection system through the lenses of the capability approach

Abstract

The hegemonic cultural and economic model of our societies– neoliberalism– is premised upon self-valorization and unbridled competition at all levels, including the education system. This erodes the democratic ethos and fosters the development of regressive and destructive drives. The contribution looks at how the Capability Approach, with specific reference to Nussbaum’s version, can offer an alternative perspective in a context as peculiar as the protection system, where participation is mediated by institutional actors such as the social service and the court. By drawing on the results of consultations with care leavers, conducted within the European REC project Empowering Child Care Systems and Supporting Leaving Care from Inside, it will be argued how questions about who, how and on whose terms need to be asked for the patterns underlying participation, including conflict, to be deconstructed, developing a model of democratic participation understood as a dialogical and constructive pro