Harts Participation Ladder - Full Description - Toolfair哈特与# 39；参与阶梯-充分描述toolfa.doc

PAGE 1 Roger Hart?s Ladder of Participation Roger Hart (1992) proposed the first comprehensive definition of the concept of participation, based on his experiences in environmental studies. He described participation as the process of sharing decisions that affect one life and the life of the community in which one lives. It is the means by which democracy is built and it is a standard against which democracies should be measured. According to Hart, participation is the fundamental right of citizenship. The key element of Hart?s definition is decision-making. He describes participation as a ladder, with levels of youth involvement in projects ranging from non-participation to full participation. He identifies eight levels of participation, calling this the Ladder of Participation. Hart?s Ladder of Participation (Hart 1992) 1. Manipulation: In this kind of participation, youth have no understanding of the issues and hence do not understand their actions. They are consulted but given no feedback on how the ideas they shared during the consultation are used. 2. Decoration: youth participation involves providing entertainment through performances, or simply providing evidence of their involvement. 3. Tokenism. Here, youth appear to have a voice. They are invited to sit in conference panels as representatives of youth but provided no opportunity to formulate their ideas on the subject of discussion. Likewise no process enables them to consult with other youth they are supposed to represent. The next five levels represent genuine participation. Hart describes how the youth is able to participate meaningfully by thoroughly understanding and choosing to become involved in the project. 4. Assigned-but-informed: This represents the first level of genuine participation. Here, youth understand the intentions of the project; they know who made the decision concerning their involvement and why; they have a meaningful role;