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9 APRIL 2010

NO 1562

The untapped experts

Anna Freud once told therapists that if they did not understand something, perhaps they should ask the children. Listening to the voice of children was a theme espoused by early youth work pioneers committed to democratic principles of involving young citizens in decision making. In the 1920s, Janusz Korczak designed his school for street children as a miniature democracy in which children were given responsibilities in developing and administering rules that governed their behavior. Lawrence Kohlberg called Korczak's children's court the prototype of the just community school (Brendtro & Hinders, 1990). By 1928, Coral Liepmann of Germany was able to publish an extensive international study of programs for children in trouble that employed principles of self-governance.

The wisdom of listening to youth was largely forgotten as "professionalized" treatment models became adult dominated. By the end of the 20th century, researchers would describe most programs for children with emotional and behavior disorders as "curriculums of control" (Knitzer, Steinberg, & Fleisch, 1990). In a study of school dropouts, Fine (1991) found that students were systematically silenced and excluded from significant input in their own education. Students report that most adults do not really listen to them. A typical comment is "Why do they ask for our opinion when they are going to tell us that their way is the right way?" (p. 45). Some adults make token gestures toward youth involvement while continuing a process of adult domination. For example, one alternative school for youth at risk invites students to attend meetings of the interdisciplinary teams involved in developing intervention plans. The student is then boxed into signing a written contract of behavioral expectations, with provisions crafted in advance to assure the adults' desired control outcomes.

Youth with problems are often seen as immature and irresponsible, and professionals seldom involve them in planning the services they are to receive. Gabor and Greene (1991) inter viewed teens in out-of-home placement to determine if they were involved in planning for their future. Among 36 youths in the study, none recalled having been consulted in designing the case plan. Half were not even provided with significant information about the placements they were given. Their responses conveyed feelings of helplessness in the face of dominating adults. The researchers concluded,

Young people have their own views and opinions about their situation and about the services they are receiving. They will share these views if given encouragement and the opportunity. If the services provided to young people are to be of real assistance to them, those closest to them ... must ensure that young people are provided the opportunity to express their views and that, when they do, someone is listening! (Gabor & Greene, 1991, p. 18)

Because youth are the only ones with an inside track on the goals of their behavior, it is puzzling that this data source has so often been ignored. Some researchers have argued that "deviant individuals" make unreliable informants (Loeber, 1991). Perhaps, but scientists are truth detectors. Even the fact that a youth chooses to lie raises intriguing hypotheses and opportunities for communication. Has a trusted adult betrayed the young person? Does he fear punishment for being honest? Is she embarrassed to disclose a painful or shameful event? When a youth feels it is safe to share, the need to deceive diminishes. But no person is an open book, and we all need to preserve some areas of personal privacy. The stories we dare to share depend on how we decide between "what is true and what is tellable" (Spence, 1984, p. 62).

Perhaps the most important assessment is conducted not by the adult but by the youth. Canadian research found that youth will not cooperate with workers with whom they have no established connections. Nor will they respond to intrusive assessments that pose irrelevant or demeaning questions about their personal lives, relationships, and activities (Artz, Nicholson, Halsall, & Larke, 2001). As long as the young person remains "the missing team member," youth are likely to resist or sabotage plans foisted on them (Brendtro & Bacon, 1995).

A former youth in care, Brian Raychaba (1990) observed that youth are the best experts on their own lives but are often deprived of a significant voice in matters affecting them. A cli mate of mutual distrust will have to be replaced with honest dialogue and shared decision making. This new climate calls for a fresh approach to assessment. Adult expertise must be used to involve the youth in defining the problem and searching for solutions (Clark, 2001).

LARRY BRENDTRO AND MARY SHAHBAZIAN

Brendtro, L. and Shahbazian, M. ((2004). Troubled Children and Youth: Turning Problems into Opportunities. Champaign, Ill. Research Press. pp. 159-161.

REFERENCES

Artz, S.; Nicholson, D.; Halsall, E. and Larke, S. (2001). Guide for needs assessment for youth. Victoria, B.B. University of Victoria.

Brendtro, L. and Bacon, J. (1995). Youth empowerment and teamwork. In H. Garner (Ed.). Teamwork models and experience in education and child care. New York. Prentice Hall.

Brendtro, L. and Hinders, D. (1990). A saga of Janus Korczak, the king of children. Harvard Educational Review, 60, 2. pp. 237-246.

Clark, M. (2001). Influencing positive behavior change: Increasing the therapeutic approach of juvenile courts. Federal Probation, 65, 1. pp. 8-28.

Fine, M. (1991). Framing dropouts:Notes on the politics of an urban public high school. Albany. State University of New York Press.

Gabor, P. and Greene, I. (1991). Views from the inside: Young people's perceptions of residential services. Journal of Child and Youth Care Work, 7. pp. 6-19.

Knitzer, J.; Steinberg, Z. and Fleisch, B. (1990). At the schoolhouse door. New York. Bank Street College of Education.

Liepmann, C. (1928) Die Selbstventaltung der Gefangen. In M. Liepmann (Ed.). Hamburgishe Schriften zur gesamten Strafrechtswessenshcaft. (Vol. 12). Mannheim/Berlin/Leipsig.

Loeber, R. (1991). Anti-social behavior: More enduring than changeable? Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 3. pp. 393-396.

Spence, D. (1984). Narrative truth and historical truth. New York. Norton.

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