Children’s agency in building social capital and collective actions
ISSN: 0965-4283
Article publication date: 7 January 2019
Issue publication date: 23 January 2019
Abstract
Purpose
Whole-school approaches emphasising pupil participation are recognised as being conducive for building social capital, yet how participatory health educational processes relate to different types of social capital remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is to explore which mechanisms within a participatory health educational process influence social capital and collective actions in the school context, and to discuss children’s agency in such processes.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study design, with the Danish “We Act – Together for Health” intervention, considered as an instrumental case regarding participatory health educational processes for children, principally since it applied the participatory Investigation–Vision–Action–Change (IVAC) methodology. The paper is based on a theory-driven, abductive research strategy. Qualitative methods, including focus group interviews with children, semi-structured interviews with teachers and school principals, and participant observation were used.
Findings
The study’s conceptual framework, which elucidates several mechanisms that interact with types of social capital and collective actions within the school setting, indicates that working with child participation through the IVAC methodology can influence types of social capital and collective actions. It also emphasises children’s limited agency in terms of affecting bridging and linking social capital, norms of reciprocity and collective actions without sufficient support mechanisms at the school and class levels.
Originality/value
The study provides a novel comprehensive conceptual framework identifying the specific mechanisms at different levels that influence social capital and collective actions.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the participants of the study. In addition, the authors would like to thank Professor Bjarne Bruun Jensen at Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, for constructive and inspiring guidance in the development of this paper. This study was funded by Nestlé, the Technical University of Denmark and Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen. The funders had no role in the design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of data.
Citation
Stjernqvist, N.W., Bonde, A.H., Trolle, E., Sabinsky, M. and Maindal, H.T. (2019), "Children’s agency in building social capital and collective actions", Health Education, Vol. 119 No. 1, pp. 35-50. https://doi.org/10.1108/HE-04-2018-0025
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited