Permission to Speak Freely? Reflections on Ethical Complexities around ‘Consent’ within Sport/Physical Activity Research with Young People

Author(s):

Rachel Sandford(presenting / submitting)Oliver Hooper Chloe Woodhouse

Conference:

ECER 2016

Network:

18. Research in Sports Pedagogy

Format:

Paper

Session Information

18 SES 06, Ethical Considerations for Research and Practice in Physical Education and Sport Settings

Paper Session

Time:

2016-08-24

15:30-17:00

Room:

OB-E2.38 (ALE 4)

Chair:

Fiona Chambers

Contribution

An increased appreciation of young people as competent social agents, capable of both understanding and articulating their experiences (e.g. Christensen & James, 2008; Heath et al., 2009) has led to a ‘welcome growth’ in research approaches that seek to privilege the voices of young participants (Morrow, 2008). Often grounded in a recognition of the rights of young people to be consulted in matters that concern them, as enshrined within Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNICEF, 1989), such research generally involves attempts to provide authentic opportunities for young people to speak, be heard and actively contribute to conversations regarding matters that directly concern them (Flutter & Rudduck, 2004). Prout (2003) has argued that such views have become part of the ‘rhetorical orthodoxy’ (p.11) of much social policy discourse and there is certainly vast support for the contemporary significance of youth voice within educational and public policy research contexts (Roberts, 2003). Similarly, within physical education and youth sport contexts, there is much agreement on the need for/importance of making spaces for the voices of young people to be heard, acknowledged and acted upon (e.g. O’Sullivan & MacPhail, 2010).

While a large body of research exists to support a youth voice approach (e.g. Heath et al., 2008) there are also acknowledged challenges of engaging in this kind of research with young people. For example, it has been noted that there are specific challenges in accessing authentic youth voices (e.g. Sandford et al., 2010) and the voices of marginalised or vulnerable groups of young people (e.g. Riley & Docking, 2004). Moreover, as Goredema-Braid (2010) notes, there are often difficulties with regard to shaping research activities and gaining ethical approval for research with young people, due to the need to acknowledge issues around, for example, safeguarding, confidentiality, competency and consent. Other authors identify consent as a particular issue within research with young people, noting the challenges inherent in both gaining consent and understanding the meaning of ‘informed consent’ within research with young people (Wiles et al., 2005). Heath et al., (2007) also discuss the challenges of negotiating consent in research with young people, citing the complexities of working with gatekeepers and go-betweens.

This paper results from the authors’ own reflections on the challenges posed by gaining and receiving consent within research projects that include a youth voice focus. The aim of the discussion is threefold: to highlight key issues/concerns raised with regard to the process of gaining consent; to examine whether and how the notion of consent impacts on the capacity for authentic voices to be heard and freely given; and to consider how researchers might best understand and accommodate the concept of consent in future youth voice research. In relation to this, the discussion draws upon Bourdieusian and Foucauldian perspectives to facilitate understanding around the influence of positioning, power and practice within youth voice research.

Method

This paper draws together researcher reflections from a number of recent/ongoing research projects that have all sought to access youth voices as a means of exploring young people’s understandings/experiences of issues broadly related to sport, physical education and health. Several authors have advocated the need for reflexivity within the research process, noting that it is important for researchers to continuously reflect on and acknowledge the impact of their thoughts, ideas, experiences and actions on research processes and outcomes (e.g. Ortlipp, 2008). Etherington (2007) also suggests that researcher reflexivity helps to create the “transparency and dialogue that is required for forming and sustaining ethical research relationships” (p.599). With this in mind, drawing upon reflective diaries, fieldnotes and research conversations this discussion highlights key themes that have emerged from the authors’ own reflections on ‘ethically important moments’ (McEvoy et al., 2016) within the varying research projects in which they have been involved. These include: the challenges of obtaining formal consent to speak with young people; the role of adult gatekeepers in negotiating/facilitating consent; the perceived willingness of young people to participate in research activities; and the impact of consent on the capacity for youth voice to be heard.

Expected Outcomes

Altogether, the reflections confirm that the concept of consent is a significant one within research with young people, as it plays a key role in determining if, how and to what extent we hear young people’s voices within research. However, the ‘giving’ of consent is not perhaps as straightforward as we might expect, as it would seem that the power that resides with adult gatekeepers can potentially enforce or restrict participation; reinforcing the ‘adult-centric’ nature of the research (Sandford et al., 2010). We perhaps need to ask, therefore, to what extent are youth voices ‘silenced’ or ‘forced’ within research with young people and what are the implications of this with regard to accessing authentic voices? It is argued that there is (or should be) an onus on researchers to consider more carefully how we ensure a better ‘ethic of care’ (Heath et al., 2007) when developing research projects and ask how we might push towards, as Goredema-Braid (2010) suggests, a more situated approach towards ethics in research with young people. In this way, the discussion also acknowledges and supports McEvoy and colleagues’ (2016) assertion that researchers give thought to how they navigate ‘ethically important moments’ within research with young people.

References

Christensen, P. & James, A. (2008) Research with children: perspectives and practices (second edition). London: Routledge. Etherington, K. (2007) Ethical research in reflexive relationships, Qualitative Inquiry, 13(5), 599-616. Flutter, J. & Rudduck, J. (2004) Consulting pupils: what’s in it for schools? London: Routledge Falmer. Goredema-Braid, B. (2010) Ethical research with young people, Research Ethics Review, 6(2), 48-52. Heath, S., Charles, V., Crow, G. & Wiles, R. (2007) Informed consent, gatekeepers and go-betweens: negotiating consent in child- and youth-oriented institutions. British Educational Research Journal, 33(3) pp.403-417. Heath, S., Brooke, R., Cleaver, E. & Ireland, E. (2009) Researching young people’s lives. London: Sage Publications. McEvoy, E., Enrights, E. & MacPhail, A. (2016) Negotiating ‘ethically important moments’ in research with young people: reflections of a novice researcher. Leisure Studies, 1-12, doi:10.1080/02614367.2015.1119877 Morrow, V. (2008) Ethical dilemmas in research with children and young people about their social environments. Children’s Geographies, 6(1), 49-61. Ortlipp, M. (2008) Keeping and using reflective journals in the qualitative research process, The Qualitative Report, 13(4), pp.695-705. O’Sullivan, M. & MacPhail, A. (2010) Young people’s voices in physical education and youth sport. London: Routledge. Prout, A. (2003) Participation, policy and the changing conditions of childhood. In, C. Hallett & A. Prout (Eds.) Hearing the voices of children: social policy for a new century (pp.1-8). London, Routledge Falmer. Riley, K. & Docking, J. (2004) Voices of disaffected pupils: Implications for policy and practice. British Journal of Educational Studies, 52(2), 166-179. Sandford, R., Armour, K. & Duncombe, R. (2010) Finding their voice: disaffected youth insights on sport/physical activity interventions. In, M. O’Sullivan & A. MacPhail (Eds) Young people’s voices in physical education and youth sport (pp.65-87). London: Routledge. Wiles, R., Heath, S., Crow, G. & Charles, V. (2005) Informed consent in social research: A literature review. ESRC National Centre for Research Methods.

Author Information

Rachel Sandford (presenting / submitting)

Loughborough University, United Kingdom

Oliver Hooper

Loughborough University

School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences

Loughborough

Chloe Woodhouse