Children's perceptions and challenges of participation in decision‐making: A case study of a participatory initiative in a Chinese primary school

Abstract The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), adopted in 1989, stipulates that children have the right to freely express their views on all matters affecting them, as stated in Article 12. Although China signed the UNCRC in 1990 and ratified it in 1992, its application remains a challenge. There is little research on children's participation in decision‐making in the school context in China. This article reports a qualitative case study of a participatory initiative in a Chinese primary school, involving 28 children (15 girls and 13 boys). This study explores how children's participation in decisions affecting their school life is reflected in practice, focusing on children's perceptions of their participation and the challenges they face in one participatory initiative in a Chinese primary school. Data were collected through participant observations, focus groups, interviews and documentary examinations, and the data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that a challenge in implementing meaningful children's participation in decision‐making is the lack of children's knowledge about their participation rights. Children primarily view participation as opportunities for expression, communication, knowledge acquisition, skill development and school improvement rather than as a fundamental right. Other critical obstacles which limit the time and opportunities available for children's participation included teachers' interventions, an overbearing curriculum and heavy homework loads.