“DOES WHO YOU KNOW REALLY MATTER? THE PERCEPTIONS OF SCOTTISH CHILDREN’S RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS ON SOCIAL CAPITAL IN CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE”

Abstract

Responding to legislative and social developments, this paper investigates the perceptions of Scottish children’s rights organisations (SCRO) towards the effects of social capital in children and young people (CYP) on their inclusion in youth public participation. Findings show SCRO perceived professional networks as centrally important to CYP’s inclusion, however, viewed CYP’s own social capital as a weaker influence of less importance to their inclusion. Nuances to these perceptions included a correlation with the youth public participation format SCRO conduct. Supporting SCRO’s strong desire to be inclusive, opportunities for further investigation are identified.