Children’s Participatory Capability in Organized Leisure: The Mediation of Transactional Horizons

Daniel Stoecklin (), Ayuko Berchtold-Sedooka and Jean-Michel Bonvin
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Daniel Stoecklin: Geneva School of Social Sciences, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Ayuko Berchtold-Sedooka: Educational Resources, Education21, CH-3011 Bern, Switzerland
Jean-Michel Bonvin: Geneva School of Social Sciences, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland

Societies, 2023, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: This research conducted in Switzerland addresses the participatory capability of children regarding their organized leisure activities. Observations were made in 2016 in three French-speaking counties in Switzerland within 11 leisure facilities differentiated by their structural organization. Individual interviews were conducted with 34 children aged 13 to 16 as well as 11 managers of the leisure centers and three county-level child and youth policy-makers (Fribourg, Valais, Vaud). The findings are that children’s participatory capability in organized leisure facilities depends on a combination of factors that are both societal (economical, political, organizational) and personal. Three forms of participatory capability emerge around the opportunities for effective participation that are provided by the children’s social environment, corresponding to (1) the adaptive participation, (2) the innovative participation and (3) the cooperative participation. However, there is no strict correspondence between the types of organization of leisure structures and forms of participatory capability. This is due to the mediation of “transactional horizons”, acting as symbolic landscapes that are channeling social interactions and the negotiation of forms of participation. This confirms the relevance of an interpretive approach to children’s rights in order to better understand how they actually translate into practice.

Keywords: participation; children; rights; capabilities; leisure; agency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 P P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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