The ability of a child to overcome difficulties and maintain their wellbeing is in part dependent of the systems that they are part of (Masten, 2021), including the schools, the communities, and the neighborhoods that they live in.  However, little research takes an interdisciplinary approach to understand which factors support children’s wellbeing.  Therefore, this research takes a transformative approach and seeks to research and to find ways to implement change (Mertens, 2017).  We seek to uncover the multifaceted resources within neighborhoods that positively influence the wellbeing. The study is motivated by critical gaps in the literature, notably the prevalence of deficit-based approaches, the overlooking of children's perspectives, and the limited exploration of neighborhood resources and the complex ways in which they interact in fostering wellbeing within the school and beyond.

The neighborhoods in which children grow up impact their educational opportunities and may impede equality across their lifespan (Minh et al., 2017). At the same time, neighborhoods, which schools are a part of, may hold potential resources for children’s resilience (Ungar & Theron, 2020), or their capacity to adapt successfully to challenges (Masten & Barnes, 2018), and can possibly counter structural processes of inequality. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, children living in more cohesive and safer neighborhoods fared better than others in terms of physical and mental health (Robinette et al., 2021). After-school programs, community initiatives, and accessible meeting points can offer opportunities to offset possible threats to children's wellbeing and positively impact their educational outcomes. Overall, cohesive neighborhoods with a strong collective efficacy have a robust positive effect on children’s adjustment (Yule et al., 2019). Yet, our knowledge about which resources can be accessed and the ways through which these can be accessed remains rather limited with no in-depth explorations of how young people evaluate such resources.

How the complex ecosystems surrounding a child may support their positive adjustment remains unclear with some significant gaps in the current state of the literature. First, research tends to take a deficit-based approach and focus on the ways in which children are disadvantaged. Second, the perspective of children and their own experience of the resources they rely on is mostly overlooked. And third, research investigating the resources that support children’s resilience, or their capability to overcome difficulty, tends to mainly focus on the interpersonal networks in their families from a psychological perspective, on the relationship between teachers and pupils from an educational perspective, or on the social capital accessible to them, from a sociological perspective.  In this project, we hope to go beyond this fragmented state of the literature and explore the resources that children rely on in their networks from the children’s own perspective. The research question we hope to answer is: “Which factors in the neighborhood their school is embedded have the potential to positively impact the children’s wellbeing, from their own perspective”. The research adopts an asset-based lens, which marks a departure from conventional deficit-oriented paradigms. By examining neighborhoods through the eyes of the children themselves, the focus is on identifying and understanding the diverse resources and strengths present within their immediate social and physical environments that foster resilience.

Central to the research question is the exploration of neighborhood and community factors which influence the capacity of children to overcome challenges. This extends beyond traditional educational perspectives and includes after-school programs, community initiatives, and accessible meeting points within the community. Our study seeks to uncover how these unconventional resources foster children's resilience and positively impact their educational outcomes and aspires to contribute to a transformative understanding of the ecosystems surrounding children in diverse and changing European cities.

At the heart of this study is the recognition of children's perspectives on what resources they rely on. The research values the often-overlooked voices of children in research on their wellbeing and educational pathways. As such, it aims to uncover a more comprehensive picture of the real-life factors which shape their wellbeing and educational journeys. By centering on the experiences and perceptions of the children, the study seeks to bridge existing gaps in understanding by foregoing a deficit-based approach, centering the children’s voice, and taking into account the neighborhood as an access point to a diversity of community resources. We amplify children’s voices by using a photovoice method, which means that children take active part in recording and reflecting on their lives and the neighborhoods through which they move through photos (Sarti et al., 2018). Researchers accompany the children in their walks around the school in small groups inviting interviews (Epstein, Stevens, Mc Keever, & Baruchel, 2008). Furthermore, we conduct participant-observation and informal interviews working with children in creating an exposition of their photos and walking through the area during sessions. The data gathering consists of four subsequent sessions (in April 2024)with 8-10 children aged 9-11 years in a primary school in highly diverse neighborhood (concerning social, economic, and cultural backgrounds in the Netherlands Children are contacted through the school and voluntarily take part in the project. We emphasize the importance of reciprocity and the participating children get the opportunity to acquire skills in the field of photography as well as conducting research. Children are invited to be involved in the interpretation of the material to increase validity of the results (Brydon-Miller, Greenwood, & Maguire, 2003). We use inductive content analysis of the data to identify recurring themes brought up by the children. Finally, the children are offered the opportunity to review the findings in a later stage and add context if they find it desirable.

Research into the unequal outcomes of children with various backgrounds has long focused on the risk factors contributing to this inequality. Recent research endeavors, such as the current project, shift the focus rather on the richness of resources that are available in children’s networks. . The results (available in June 2024) from this explorative study encompass children’s own unique experiences ofthe resources available in the neighborhood surrounding their school. Insight into where the children like to come as well as which spaces they tend to avoid and whom they turn to with which queries and questions will open venture point between communities and schools. Previous research has indicated that many resources are available diverse communities and community members rely on them (Steenwegen&Clycq, 2023). However, these resources are not always recognized and valued in mainstream schooling. Simultaneously, community members have signaled that they find it difficult to establish strong working relationships with schools. The outcomes of this research project will highlight opportunities for strengthening resources of resilience for the benefit of all children.

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