Group of young people standing against a wall.

Approaches to Participation

This guide identifies five approaches to participation, each of which involves young people and their families at different times and in different ways.

Each approach is good practice; none is necessarily better than another, but each one suits different circumstances. The approach to participation you use will depend on:

  • the purpose of the participation
  • the needs of the young people and families involved
  • the stage at which you want to involve young people and their families.

The diagram, taken from Treseder (1997), refers to 'adults' and 'young people'. For our purposes, 'adults' refers to the providers who design and run the participation exercise.

Choosing the approach to participation you want will enable you to choose the right methods of participation. These range from questionnaires to workshops and focus groups.

Group of young people standing against a wall.
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