September, Rose; Savahl, Shazly(University of Johannesburg, 2009)
[more]
[less]
Abstract:
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) through its
reporting framework for nation states has prompted increasing interest on
the measuring and monitoring of child well-being. The domains and
indicators included in the repertoire of country measures of child well-being
have mostly been constructed and monitored by adults, usually social
scientists and government officials. This study explored children’s own
understandings of children’s well-being. Sixteen focus groups were
conducted with 200 children between the ages of 9 and 16 years. The study
identified protection and safety, basic needs, community resources and
psychosocial issues as the key domains of well-being. The study further
highlighted the importance of perceiving well-being as an integrated whole
consisting of closely interacting components rather than as a discrete
multidimensional phenomenon.