Voice of child absent in education mediation
Ireland is falling short in its international legal obligations in relation to the voice of the child in educational mediation, according to Dr Aisling Parkes, special rapporteur on child protection and senior academic and researcher at University College Cork.
“The reality is it's the lived experience of the child that needs to be accounted for in this context, yet the child is the one who is excluded from the whole dispute,” she told a GEMME webinar on child mediation (25 June).
“This raises the issue of access to justice for children. Effective remedies are essential for a child's promotion, protection and fulfilment of all their human rights.”
Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child [UNCRC] establishes the voice of the child as a procedural, as well as a substantive, legal right.
In all matters affecting children, including education, it requires that their voice and views be given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity. This applies to both legal and administrative proceedings.
Right to be heard
A general comment on access to justice for children from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child explicitly states that the right of the child to be heard extends into alternative dispute-resolution mechanisms.
“Mediation in education is uniquely suited to operationalising article 12 of the UNCRC because it is inherently dialogical rather than adjudicatory; it's participatory and it's non-adversarial,” Parkes said.
“Child participation in decision making is a major policy focus across OECD education systems.
“A failure to include the child's voice in school mediation is increasingly inconsistent with mainstream international education governance standards.
“Our constitutional framework for including children's voices in [school-related] administrative proceedings is actually absent and our legal framework only talks about legal proceedings.
“There is a clear gap between what we have in law and what we have in rights-based policy,” she concluded.
The Education Act 1998 says that student grievances must be heard, but usually their participation is mediated through parents.
The Inclusive Education for All strategy (2025-2028) focused on student voice and student participation in education and an expectation that their views will influence decisions, she explained.
“Student voice in relation to our Education Act is not guaranteed.
“The UNCRC would say it should be facilitated, and Irish policy would say it should be actively promoted. The weight of use is not specified at all under our Education Act.
“The due weight is required under article 12 [of the UNCRC], and due weight is emphasised under our policies,” Parkes explained.
Clear gap
“So, there is a clear gap in relation to how this all plays out in a dispute-resolution context.
“Current education mediation practice focuses on parents and schools negotiating solutions.
“This is aimed at reaching a consensus on the child's educational needs. But the question I would ask is, how can we know what a child's true educational needs are in the absence of the voice of the child?”