Empowering youth in care: the case of emancipatory research with care leavers

Caterina Arciprete; Mario Biggeri; Irene Fattacciu

doi:10.18682/jcs.v2i23.9793

Caterina Arciprete University of Florence
Mario Biggeri University of Florence
Irene Fattacciu ARCO Action Research for Co-Development

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18682/jcs.v2i23.9793

Palabras clave: egresados/as del sistema de protección., protección infantil, investigación emancipatoria, Italia

Resumen

La nueva sociología de la niñez ha enfatizado que los/as niños/as son capaces de ser reflexivos, de tener un propósito e influir en el entorno en el que viven. Este concepto también se conoce como 'niños/as como agentes capaces', lo que significa que pueden moldear el entorno. A pesar de esto, a los/as niños/as rara vez se les da el espacio para participar. La falta de participación es particularmente evidente dentro del sistema de protección infantil, donde la tensión entre el derecho de los/as niños/as a la protección, y su derecho a la participación, se vuelve aún más pronunciada. Impedirles la participación no sólo es una violación de un derecho, sino que impacta en su capacidad de ejercer la ciudadanía social. Este artículo aborda estos temas presentando los hallazgos del proyecto de investigación-acción CarINg (Empowering Child Care Systems and Supporting Leaving Care from Inside), implementado en Italia y cofinanciado por la Unión Europea. La investigación profundizó en las oportunidades de participación para las personas egresadas del sistema de protección, con un doble enfoque en mejorar el sistema de protección alternativo local y empoderar a las personas que egresaron del sistema, para que expresen activamente sus opiniones. Los resultados muestran cómo la participación de aquellas personas que egresaron del sistema en la producción de conocimiento, puede empoderarlas como sujetos contribuyendo a generar cambios dentro del mismo sistema de cuidados alternativos. Que todos estos cambios sucedan depende de la capacidad de las instituciones para reconocer que los/as niños/as son auténticos/as agentes y participantes de la sociedad.

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Biografía del autor/a

Caterina Arciprete, University of Florence

Post-doc at the University of Florence and researcher ay ARCO (Action Research for COdevelopment). Her research is on child multidimensional poverty and well-being, gender issues and disability. She combines quantitative methodologies with qualitative and participative methodologies. She holds a Ph.D in Development Economics from the University of Florence and was a visiting scholar at Oxford University as part of “Young Lives” project. She has been a consultant for UNICEF Innocenti, UNICEF Madagascar, UNDP, Terre des Hommes. She has several articles published in academic journals.

Mario Biggeri, University of Florence

Full Professor in Applied Economics at the Department of Science for Economics and Business at the University of Florence. He is author and co-author of 21 books and over 50 publications in international scientific journals. He i is also Vice-President of the Graduate Degree Course SECI – Sustainable Development, Cooperation and Conflict Management at the University of Florence. He is the Scientific Director of ARCO (at PIN -Polo Universitario della Città di Prato)

Irene Fattacciu, ARCO Action Research for Co-Development

Expert in qualitative and participatory methodologies. She holds a PhD in History and Civilization from the European University Institute (2011) and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Turin (2019). Since 2021, she works at ARCO (Action Research for COdevelopment), conducting and coordinating research projects in the field of gender studies, disability, protection and welfare systems, energy poverty and empowerment processes.

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