Social equality of children in the context of social and political participation with the capability approach☆

This mixed-method study drew on the capability approach and transformative paradigm to investigate the citizenship of children and their social and political participation. This approach was chosen because it focuses on producing policies or projects that can involve different people by considering their capabilities. The study aimed to reveal the importance of children as political subjects in social life. The field research was conducted in I(center dot)zmir Seferihisar Child Municipality ((ISCM)-S-center dot), Turkey. A questionnaire was administered to 116 children, including (ISCM)-S-center dot non/participants. The surveys were conducted under Covid-19 pandemic conditions and public health rules, by making an appointment with each child through the Zoom application and allowing them to see the questions by screen sharing. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 adults at the time of conducting the questionnaires. The key results were as follows: children's social and political participation is important; children's political participation is affected by all conditions of the family-school-social environment; the need to participation examples designed as projects need to be transformed into public policies. In addition, considering childhood as preparation for adulthood increases adults' decision-making power over children and impairs their participation. The study provides academic and practical benefits regarding children's political self- being.