What is the life we value? A capability-participatory approach to exploring young Chileans’ diverse meanings of and opportunities for well-being

The interest in conceptualising young people’s well-being has increased drastically over the last decades. Nevertheless, these discussions are primarily based on adult-centred and Global North constructions. This lack of contextualisation negatively impacts Chile’s policies and social programs and constrains young people’s agency and right to participate in the decisions that affect them. This dissertation adopts a capability-participatory approach to conceptualise young people’s well-being in Chile by positioning their voices and lived experiences at the centre of the research process. This work contributes to the theoretical debate about child well-being and capabilities in the majority world by recognising young people’s subjectivities as a critical input to inform theoretical constructions. Methodologically, it presents a novel approach to defining well-being in Chile, emphasising the significance of co-constructing well-being definitions by incorporating the perspectives of young people living in diverse conditions. This study shows that the influence of socioeconomic status (linked to residential location and type of education received) and social constructions of childhood (linked to agency and right to participation) are critical conversion factors that influence students’ opportunities to live the lives they have reason to value. Lastly, it reflects that including young people’s voices is fundamental to re-think well-being policies in Chile, which could potentially influence both public institutions and non-governmental organisations.