The Child Indicators movement: past, present and future

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The Child Indicators movement past, present and
future

• Asher Ben-Arieh (Ph.D.)
• Co-Chair, International Society for Child
  Indicators (ISCI)
• Editor in Chief, Child Indicators Research
• Head, Joseph J. Schwartz M.A. ProgramPaul
  Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare
  
• The Hebrew University of JerusalemE-mail
  benarieh_at_cc.huji.ac.il

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The presentation framework

• When did it all start the historical origin
• The pioneering efforts
• The social indicators phenomena
• Child social indicators
• The rapid development era (1980 2005)
• The shifts
• The present
• The future
• The policy impact
• A few words about ISCI

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When did it all start the historical origin

• As early as the late 40th
• Sporadic efforts to publish state of the child
  reports.
• A few examples..
• What were they about and why were they published?
  

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The pioneering efforts

• Most of them were a one time episode
• They focused on the existence of risk factors in
  children life
• Most were published by governmental agencies and
  a few by NGOs
• They were heavily profession focused
• Most were non-academic publications

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The social indicators phenomena

• One of the first times the term was used was in
  Bauer's influential book, that made the concept
  scientifically and politically relevant.
• Bauer defined Social Indicators social
  indicators statistics, statistical series, and
  all other forms of evidence that enable us to
  assess where we stand and are going with respect
  to our values and goals .
• As of the 1960s, researchers argue that
  well-measured and consistently collected social
  indicators can provide a way to monitor the
  condition of groups in society, including
  children and families, today and over time.

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The social indicators phenomena

• Social indicators are used by policy makers to
  contribute to the improvement of the well being
  of the people they serve.
• Social indicators measure changes and trends over
  time. The overall direction of change can point
  out what decisions need to be taken, as a policy
  process.
• Social indicators give policy makers a better
  understanding of the conditions and the state of
  the people.
• Social indicators can direct and emphasize where
  exactly steps should be taken?

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Child social indicators

• Recent years have brought new and growing
  attention to social indicators of childrens well
  being.
• This growing interest has been partly due to a
  movement toward accountability-based public
  policy and the need for more accurate measures of
  the conditions children face and the outcomes
  various programs achieve.
• The rapid changes in family life have also
  prompted an increased demand for a better picture
  of children's well being

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Child social indicators

• Indicators of childrens well-being, in
  particular, are used by child advocacy groups,
  policy makers, researchers, the media, and
  service providers to serve a number of purposes
• to describe the condition of children
• to monitor or track child outcomes
• to set goals.
• And while there are notable gaps and inadequacies
  in existing child and family well-being
  indicators, there also literally are dozens of
  data series and indicators from which to form
  opinions and draw conclusions.

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The rapid development era (1980 2009)

• Efforts to measure and monitor childrens
  well-being have dramatically grown in the last 30
  years and is evident, in joint projects by
  government, non-government, and academic
  institutes and especially in the production of
  numerous State of the Child reports.

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The rapid development era (1980 2009)

• Much of this new and enhanced activity can be
  accounted for by
• UNICEFs State of the Worlds Children annual
  report published since 1979.
• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of
  the Child, through its global ratification and
  especially through its reporting and monitoring
  mechanism.
• A number of national and multi-national projects
  and studies such as the Annie E. Casey
  Foundations Kids Count initiative in the United
  States (early 90s). The multi-national project
  on measuring and monitoring children well being
  (1996). The European center childhood project and
  more.

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The shifts

• In a number of studies and papers I have argued
  (as did others) that the field of childrens
  social indicators has been evolving and going
  through four major shifts in the last 25 years.
• From survival to beyond
• From negative to positive
• From well becoming to well-being, and
  consequently
• From traditional to new domains.
• Today it seems a consensus was reached that
  indeed the field is changing in these directions.

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The present

• The field of child social indicators is
  constantly changing!
• Research support earlier studies that argued that
  the field is going through the 4 major shifts
  mentioned above. These shifts are occurring
  everywhere, though at different paces in
  different places.
• Further, I would argue that these shifts are
  correlated with changes in the philosophy or
  approach to child social indicators
• the incorporation of subjective perception as
  well as the child perspective and
• the usage of the child as the unit of observation.

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The future

• I would predict that the field will continue to
  move in the previously mentioned directions and
  will most likely do so at a considerably faster
  pace.
• I further anticipate that the continuation of the
  current trends will eventually lead to the
  creation of a new role for children in the
  effort to measure and monitor their own well
  being a role of active participants rather then
  of subjects for research.
• I would also argue that we are in a midst of a
  shift toward a more closely policy oriented
  indicators
• From now on I would like to concentrate on the
  policy shift.

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Policy related indicators?

• It is clear that while some indicators have led
  to new policies and programs for children, others
  have not.
• It is also evident that the same indicator when
  used in some countries and instances has led to
  desired outcomes, while in others it did not.

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The questions

• Which are the most influential (policy wise)
  indicators of childrens well-being?
• Are there any rules or guidelines for how an
  indicator should and could be constructed?
• How can the knowledge gained from using the
  indicator be brought into policy-making
  decisions?

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The answers

• Our knowledge is limited.
• The only methodology we are using so far is
  case-studies. But they are hard to generalize.
• Our project went as far as integrating 5 case
  studies.
• Additional methods are sought the NYC seminar.
• There are several attempts to develop guidelines
• Most of them are based on personal experience and
  intuition.
• The issue of knowledge diffusion and delivery of
  findings to the policy makers is still awaiting a
  through examination

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Conclusion

• We started our journey with the sound analysis
  that the field of measuring and monitoring
  children well being is changing.
• Not only that it is changing but we have built on
  the direction it is heading to make a case for a
  more active role of children in the study of
  their well being.
• We also made clear that there is a need to
  thoroughly study the policies consequences.

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Conclusion

• We need to develop new research methodologies
  on the basis of partnership with children and
  policy makers.
• Methods which in turn involves a new role in the
  power structure for the researcher.
• A move from the plunderer of information to
  facilitator which enables the child to be an
  active part of voicing their concerns
• As well as a move from isolated studies to
  studies which are embedded within the policy
  arena context.

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And a few words on ISCI

• Researchers, data users, child advocates, and
  policymakers have made considerable advances in
  developing and using indicators and measuring the
  status of child and adolescent well-being.
• These advances have been made possible by
  improvements in data collection and use, and
  collaborative efforts at the local, national,
  regional, and international levels. 
• These important efforts, however, have been
  undertaken without the benefit of an organizing
  structure to support and foster collaboration,
  integrate findings, and coordinate and
  disseminate research.  In short, the field is
  reaching critical mass without an organized
  professional home.
• The International Society for Child Indicators
  (ISCI) offers that home.

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ISCIs Goals

• ISCI brings together experts in the field
  worldwide to
• Contribute to the well-being of all children.
• Share knowledge and experience.
• Develop standards.
• Improve data resources.
• Foster collaborative research and projects.
• Foster diversity in methodological approaches.
• Enhance dissemination of information on
  childrens status.
• Help organizations apply the findings to policy
  and practice.
• Enhance the capacity of the field in countries
  that are in the initial stages of producing child
  well-being indicators.

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ISCIs Projects

• Child Indicators Research (CIR) a Springer
  journal www.springer.com/12187
• Childrens Well being Research and Indicators a
  Springer book series
• Newsletter sent by e-mail to almost 1,000 experts
  in the field.
• Active Web-site www.childindicators.org
• International conferences

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ISCIs 2nd international conference

• Planning is well underway for the second ISCI
  conference at the Parramatta campus of the
  University of Western Sydney (UWS), on the topic
  of child social indicators and child well-being -
  4th and 5th November 2009.
• The ISCI conference will be preceded by a one-day
  (3rd Nov) Symposium of the Social Justice and
  Social Change Research Centre (UWS), on Children
  as experts in their own lives Child Inclusive
  Research.
• For more info ISCI_Conference_09_at_uws.edu.au

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Thank you!