Les entretiens enfant / professionnel·le : un espace pour une participation significative en protection de l’enfance

Child participation is a human right, but a large number of researchers have mentioned that, in the field of child protection, the level of participation of children remains insufficient, and we still know not enough about how this right can be made effective in the course of interventions. Considering participation as a dynamic process, this article suggests that for participation to take place, children must be given opportunities to express their views to those who make proposals or decisions that affect them. In this article, we look at the context and content of meetings between children aged 8 to 14 and their child welfare officer or case manager. These encounters can provide opportunities to pass on information, build and maintain a relationship and involve the child in decision-making processes. These three dimensions are the conditions for participation. The framework of the research into participation and exchanges between practitioners and children, and the method used, based on observation of practices and interviews with the people involved, will be presented first, before looking at the results, which focus particularly on the contexts of the meetings, the methods and content of the discussions and the forms of expression used by the children. This article aims to answer the following questions: how are these meetings organised and conducted? What subjects are discussed and what are not? What role do the children play at these events, and what forms of expression do they use to make themselves heard or visible? In conclusion, we discuss the effects that the contexts and content of these meetings have on children’s experiences of meaningful participation.