In this chapter we shift our focus from the contributions that children make within the private realm of family and the public/private online sphere, to their participation within the more explicitly public realm of school and broader community. Children across the globe get involved in their schools, communities and societies, where they contribute and aim to make a difference through direct actions, participation in decision-making, awareness raising and challenging common assumptions about their capacities. In this chapter, we discuss three examples of children's diverse contributions and analyse the many levels upon which power may operate within them. Our first example is the involvement of children in school councils, which have a long tradition in many countries and have gained further prominence after the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Our second example is the more recent mobilisation of children and young people through the climate strikes (Fridays for the Future), which gained momentum across the world in 2019. Finally, our third example is the activism by working children's movements in Latin America, Asia and Africa to improve the conditions of working children and destigmatise child labour. Through these three examples, we discuss different dimensions of power and analyse the extent to which the actions of children can or should be seen as manifestations of kid power. We trace some of the discourses and paradigms around childhood and children's involvement, which are common in commentary and responses to children's involvement in all three contexts. Finally, we challenge the zerosum conception of power commonly used to describe children's involvement and activism, by considering various power differentials between children and adults and between children themselves and the many potential combinations through which the interests of children and adults may coincide.

Case 1: Children's Involvement in School Councils

School councils are representative structures, where student councillors meet regularly to discuss areas of interest to the children at their school. The councils are often highlighted as a way to increase children and young people's engagement and active citizenship, and they are closely related to the broader focus on children's rights to participation, learning for democracy and ‘pupil voice’ (Maitles and Deuchar, 2006; Whitty and Wisby, 2007).