What does research tell us about young people’s participation in decision making in residential care? A systematic scoping review

More than three decades ago, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child signalled to an international audience that all children under the age of 18 years are to be regarded as having certain rights. These rights include the right to be actively involved in decisions that affect their lives. In spite of this international obligation, which has been translated globally into policy and legislation across the world, little is known about the extent to which it is enacted in practice for young people living in residential care. This article reports on a systematic scoping review which investigated research publications on participation in making life-impacting decisions by young people. A critical theoretical lens was applied to the collation and analysis of publications, enabling a multidimensional presentation of five emerging themes. The implications for practice and policy include the need for organisations to challenge professional attitudes and disrupt practices which exclude young people from participating in decisions that impact on their lives, and for residential care staff and social workers to provide information and safe and inclusive spaces to support young people to form and express their views. Having heard their views, responsible adults must then demonstrate that they have been taken seriously.