Qasjet politikëbërëse për grupet e skajuara: kufijtë e ligjërimit në hapësirën publike për “fëmijët në situatë rruge”
Policy approaches for the marginalized groups: The limitations of public discourse on ‘street children’

Summary/Abstract: The research project addresses the complex phenomenon of “street children” in the Albanian contemporary society and polity with a particular focus on discourse and policy approaches for inclusive education. “Street children” face multifaceted deprivation, social, economic, cultural and political exclusion, negative public perceptions and as such are placed at the outer margins of the mainstream society. The research project analyses the conceptual framework on “street children” as embedded in the intervention programs of governmental and non-governmental organizations for inclusive education. Through a qualitative methodology of document analysis, in-depth interviews and critical discourse analysis, the research project explores the ways in which the conceptual framework and discourse on “street children” impacts policy approaches for inclusive education. The research demonstrates that the discourse on “street children” in the public sphere (re) produces and reinforces already existing aspects of social deprivation, marginalization and discrimination of these children and their families. The research shows that there are limited efforts to elaborate the concept of “street children” and that there is confusion in policy regarding the use of the term. In addition, “street children” are seen either as victims of socio-economic hardship and endangered by their presence in the spaces of the “street” or as a possible threat to the rest of the society, i.e. the street criminalises children. The research shows two main policy approaches: (i) correctional or repressive-oriented policy approach that conceives “street children” as a danger to public order whose features differentiate from mainstream childhood and as such invites intervention programmes that tend to “normalise” children as in the case of the National Strategy for Improving the Living Conditions of Roma community; (ii) protective or rehabilitative policy approaches, i.e. emphasising children needs and aiming at protecting and re-integrating them in family and mainstream society as demonstrated in the National Strategy for Children. Recent intervention programmes from non-governmental organisations draw from the conceptualisation of children as social actors and attempt to include children in research and development of intervention programmes. The research suggests that there is a need to link research on the socialisation processes, identity construction and resilience of “street children” in the spaces of the street based on their dynamic lifestyles and perspectives with policy development. This entails a deconstruction of the limits of discourse on “street children” and an in-depth and critical analysis of the concept of “street children” in policy development as well as a conceptualisation of children based on their rights.

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