Participation It is important that all children have the opportunity to learn to participate in programmes that directly affect their lives. Participation can be defined as (children and) adolescents partaking in and influencing processes, decisions and activities. In the CRC, participation is a moral and legal right for all (children and) adolescents, and an end in itself. Because it is a right, it is an inalienable entitlement, not a matter of goodwill or charity. But it is a right, not an obligation. Therefore participation must always be voluntary, and never coerced. (Rakesh Ranjani, 2000)

Their exercise books open in front of them, children recite part of their lesson during a class in the Sayed Jamaludin primary school for Afghan refugees in Ghawasabad, a suburb of Quetta, capital of the south-eastern province of Balochistan.

• Teaching styles for active learning
• Children Actively Construct Their Own Learning
• Children as Researchers - Students can particpate in authentic research projects. These modules give teachers a ready process to conduct such research with their students.
• The Participation Rights of Adolescents: A Strategic Approach - view a figure that highlights a comprehensive method for encouraging authentic participation.

Ways to improve the participation of girls in schooling

Following are some examples of the ways gender impacts on particpation:

• The different ways girls and boys use "free" activity time in class, i.e. girls are more likely to be seen reading, writing stories and playing in the home corner while boys are more likely to be seen constructing and computing. How can you as a teacher ensure that all activities can be accessed by all children?
• The majority of girls are sitting around the edges of playing areas during breaks. Boys are often more active, playing team games and sports. Can you ensure that team games and sports are organised for girls as well?
• The different ways in which questions are asked of girls and boys in classrooms. For example girls are often assisted to achieve the right answer and boys are more actively encouraged to grapple with possible solutions. Sometimes traditional culture is used as justification for differential treatment of boys and girls, even when the traditional culture is no longer fully intact. Girls may not be asked to contribute at all. How can you ensure that girls and boys get equitable attention in class?
• Girls are less encouraged than boys to participate in and learn about the social, economic and political functioning of society, with the result that they are not offered the same opportunities as boys to take part in decision-making processes in school. For example textbooks often make girls and their lives invisible. History often describes the action of men in society. Women and girls are often not included in active and positive ways.

• In some countries, girls have fewer chances to plan and make decisions about processes and programmes. Therefore you need to face this problem right from the beginning and to ensure equal opportunities for boys and girls.

• Gender and learning
• Girls at Work - Taking Steps for Change
• The Girl Child Quiz
• Barriers to Girls' Education a pdf document of 264K

Resources and Activities for Teachers

Real Adolescent Participation Checklist

Identify the differences between Real and False participation

Writing, Drawing and Discussion Activities

from Beyond Enrollment: improving girls' experiences in primary classrooms

It's Only Right!

Four activities, using Clustering and Role Cards, from It’s Only Right: a practical guide to learning about the Convention on the Rights of the Child