Social policy and the changing concept of child well-being. The role of international studies and children as active participants

Social policy refers to the overall actions and services a society takes to ensure the well-being of its citizens. As such, children are at the forefront of social policy, and investing in them is both crucial for their current well-being and an investment toward the future. However, the concept of child well-being is changing. Scholars have termed this shift as one of moving from child-saving to child development or from child welfare to child well-being. This changing context, which in many ways is still developing, is complicating the effort to develop appropriate indicators and outcome measures of children\u27s quality of life and status and consequently it is complicating the evaluation of social policy and its contribution. This paper presents the changing context of children\u27s well-being, the major shifts that have occurred in the field, and their implications for evaluating social policy. It then goes on to discuss the potential of international comparisons in evaluating social policies and in particular the new role for children\u27s subjective reports on their well-being as a tool for evaluating social policy. In that regard, the paper presents the International Survey of Children\u27s Well-Being and concludes with a call for new policies that will adhere to the new concept of children\u27s well-being and serve to create a better life for children. (DIPF/Orig.

School Effects on the Wellbeing of Children and Adolescents

Well-being is a multidimensional construct, with psychological, physical and social components. As theoretical basis to help understand this concept and how it relates to school, we propose the Self-Determination Theory, which contends that self-determined motivation and personality integration, growth and well-being are dependent on a healthy balance of three innate psychological needs of autonomy, relatedness and competence. Thus, current indicators involve school effects on children’s well-being, in many diverse modalities which have been explored. Some are described in this chapter, mainly: the importance of peer relationships; the benefits of friendship; the effects of schools in conjunction with some forms of family influence; the school climate in terms of safety and physical ecology; the relevance of the teacher input; the school goal structure and the implementation of cooperative learning. All these parameters have an influence in promoting optimal functioning among children and increasing their well-being by meeting the above mentioned needs. The empirical support for the importance of schools indicates significant small effects, which often translate into important real-life effects as it is admitted at present. The conclusion is that schools do make a difference in children’s peer relationships and well-being

Public expenditure, locality characteristics and child outcomes

The study explored whether locality characteristics are related to the proportion of local public expenditures on education and welfare and to a set of child outcomes (reported maltreatment rates; juvenile delinquency; success in matriculation exams; and rate of children known to social services). Specifically, we checked whether the proportion of public expenditures aligned with local needs, and whether they played a role in child outcomes. Data was collected for 172 localities in Israel that were home to approximately 34% of the country's child population. Findings show a clear relationship between the proportion of public expenditures on education and welfare and the socioeconomic characteristics of the locality. Further, the study established an association between child outcomes and the localities' socioeconomic characteristics. Findings show that Arab children are disadvantaged when compared to their Jewish counterparts. The study further supports the belief that locality matters, and that by changing locales, one can improve children's well being. The study only partially supported the notion that proportions of public expenditures on education and welfare are related to child outcomes.Child outcomes Public expenditure Localities

Localities, social services and child abuse: The role of community characteristics in social services allocation and child abuse reporting

The study presented here explores relationships between a set of locality characteristics, two variables of social services availability and child maltreatment. Data was collected on 173 localities in Israel, ranging from small towns to small cities. In which roughly 34% of the overall child population reside. This study was set to test three hypotheses: worse off localities will have more social services; worse off localities will have higher child maltreatment rates; localities with more available social services will have higher reported child maltreatment rates. The study shows that reporting rates vary across localities. The study established a relation between locality characteristics and availability of social workers but not with the availability of child protection officers. Findings supported earlier studies by finding a relation between locality hardship and higher child maltreatment rate. The study also established a clear relation between availability of social services and reported child maltreatment rates. Our study clearly shows that to prevent child maltreatment, one should address unemployment and better support of single-parent families.Child maltreatment Social services availability Community characteristics Social organization

Where are the Children? Children’s Role in Measuring and Monitoring Their Well-Being

social indicators, children’s well-being, subjective well being,