The initiative for the Rural Childhood Group grew out of the 2005 Tri-annual Meeting of Childwatch International Key Institutions held in Oslo, Norway. At that meeting, an initial group of interested representatives met to discuss the nature of rural childhood and how such a topic could be conceptualized within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The primary goal of the Rural Childhoods Group is to organize a research project that allows a cross-national comparison of rural childhoods specifically related to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
What we have learned to date is that in every country studied, children in rural areas fare worse than their urban counterparts. The UNCRC has the potential to either reduce or exacerbate the disparities of rights experienced by children in rural areas. By uniting efforts to combine the voices of children in rural areas, researchers have the potential to elevate the rights of children in all countries. Accomplishing such a task is the difficult though noble goal of this study group.
The members met in USA in 2006 and in Australia in 2007. In 2009 extensive discussions took place by e-mail and conference calls. The group met in Addis Ababa in 2009 during the Children’s Rights at a Cross-Roads Conference, and is exploring options for the publication of a book or special journal issue on the topic.
Related Activities:
The group has elaborated a Rural Childhood Literature Review including reviewing resources from both minority and majority world.
List of Participants:
Rebecca M.M.Wallace, Centre for Rural Childhood, University of the Highlands, UK
Anne Trinne Kjorholt, Norwegian Centre for Child Research (NOSEB), Norway
Zhao Xia, China Youth and Children Research Center, China
Nicola Taylor, Children’s Issues Center, University of Otago; New Zealand
Anne Graham, Center for Children and Young People, Southern Cross University, Australia
Mark Small, Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life, Clemson University, USAContact Information:
The group is coordinated by Mark Small, Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life, Clemson University, USA
E-mail: msmall [at] clemson.edu
Resources on Rural Childhood:
See our Children's Environments research page