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Children’s Aspirations, Societal Development and Cultural Sensitivity. Aspirational Profiles Emerging From Data Provided By Children in 22 Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Ferran Casas

    (Universidad Andrés Bello)

  • Mònica González-Carrasco

    (Research Institute on Quality of Life, Universitat de Girona)

Abstract

Societal development is related to aspirations, which are specific to each culture. Societal goals and aspirations are only partially reflected in national policies, and change with time and across countries as a consequence of the diverse interactions that take place in each territorial context. Children’s aspirations at the population or national level are usually ignored when analysing societal development due to there being a scarcity of large-scale or representative samples of children’s self-reported information in any country. In order to illustrate cultural diversity and how cultural sensitivity is needed to understand the cross-cultural heterogeneity and diversity of children’s lives and aspirations, the 10 and 12-year-old age groups from Waves 1 and 2 of the Children’ Worlds international research project databases have been used. Here we present data provided by children from 22 countries. Different cultural profiles have been identified that influence the intensity of children’s aspirations, and different aspirational profiles have been shown to have different effects on subjective well-being by country. The results show that survey methodology can be used to measure children’s aspirations at the population level and suggest one of the potential procedures for identifying the development goals pursued by children. Data provided by children could be taken as indicators of social change, progress or development – adding them to alternative indexes to the most frequently used development indexes at present—based on economic or health data only. Keeping children statistically invisible hides crucial domains from the public debate on human development goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Ferran Casas & Mònica González-Carrasco, 2021. "Children’s Aspirations, Societal Development and Cultural Sensitivity. Aspirational Profiles Emerging From Data Provided By Children in 22 Countries," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(4), pages 1315-1344, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:chinre:v:14:y:2021:i:4:d:10.1007_s12187-021-09824-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s12187-021-09824-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andrew E. Clark & Conchita D’Ambrosio & Simone Ghislandi, 2016. "Adaptation to Poverty in Long-Run Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 98(3), pages 591-600, July.
    2. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-01383894 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Ferran Casas, 1997. "Children's Rights and Children's Quality of Life: Conceptual and Practical Issues," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 283-298, November.
    4. Ferran Casas & Cristina Figuer & Mònica González & Sara Malo, 2007. "The Values Adolescents Aspire to, Their Well-being and the Values Parents Aspire to for Their Children," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 84(3), pages 271-290, December.
    5. Ferran Casas, 2018. "Comments on: Fifty Years After the Social Indicators Movement," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 969-973, February.
    6. Ferran Casas & Xavier Oriol & Mònica González-Carrasco, 2020. "Positive Affect and its Relationship with General Life Satisfaction among 10 and 12-Year-Old Children in 18 Countries," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 13(6), pages 2261-2290, December.
    7. Kenneth C. Land & Alex C. Michalos, 2018. "Fifty Years After the Social Indicators Movement: Has the Promise Been Fulfilled?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 835-868, February.
    8. Ferran Casas, 2017. "Analysing the Comparability of 3 Multi-Item Subjective Well-Being Psychometric Scales Among 15 Countries Using Samples of 10 and 12-Year-Olds," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 10(2), pages 297-330, June.
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