Children's life world as a perspective on their citizenship: The case of the Finnish Children's Parliament

The latest childhood studies present children's citizenship as a process of engaging in matters related to children themselves in their everyday lives. However, only a few studies have been conducted on what those issues are and what they actually tell about children's citizenship. This study explores the nature of children's participation and citizenship by adopting a life world perspective. The aim is to examine what kind of issues children want to participate in and influence. The data are drawn from an online discussion in the Finnish Children's Parliament. Altogether 61 children participated in the discussion, with 566 postings. The analysis of the children's online discussion shows that children comment mainly on issues that directly impact their lives, such as school. However, they also want to engage in issues that are global in nature, such as children's general well-being.