Session Information
25 SES 01, Early Years: Issues in Research Practice and Interpretation
Parallel Paper Session
Contribution
This paper explores the ethical challenges faced by researchers when choosing research tools applied with young children. The ethical practice or praxis, as it will be referred in this paper, of conducting research with young chidren will be discussed in order to shed light on the research tools that may be used with children under the age of five. The paper is based on the belief that children, just as adults, are individuals with their own views and perspectives; they have competencies and they are able to speak for themselves if the appropriate method(s) is/are used. It also discusses the ethical challenges faced by the researcher in being able to separate what is based on experience and what is based on assumptions, both without dismissing or interpreting erroneously what the child is saying.
A vast body of literature (Clark, 2004; Clark and Moss; 2001, 2005; Thompson, 2008; Farrell, 2005) discusses methods to be used with young children in research. In the light of the UNCRC (1989) and in an attempt to meet the key provisions of the UNCRC in terms of developmental rights, survival rights, protection and participation rights, there is a methodological shift in research in terms of children’s protection and participation in research. A number of researchers mentioned throughout the paper have offered creativity and innovative research tools that enable young children to participate in research. This paper was developed around the principle that all tools are relevant in research with young children if these tools are underpinned by ethical practice. It has been claimed that ethical praxis is the exercise of logic, clear judgement and sensitivity to children’s social, cultural, religious, economic and political contexts. In order to achieve full the children’s participation in research, ethical practices are internal, rather than external, processes into researching the tools chosen. Thus, all methods become appropriate if the nature of the research enquiry has been viewed as a series of problems for which resolutions have been found.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Alderson, P., (2004) Ethics, in S. Fraser, V. Lewis., S. Ding., M. Kellet and C. Robinson (eds) (2004) Doing research with children and young people, London: SAGE. Alderson, P., (2008) Young children’s Rights Exploring Beliefs, Principles and Practice, London: Jessica Kingsley Publications. Christensen, P. and James, A., (2008) Research with Children: Perspectives and Practices (2nd edn.), London: Routledge. Clark, A. and Moss, P. (2005) Spaces to Play: More listening to young children using the Mosaic approach, National Children’s Bureau, London Clark, A., (2005a) Listening to and involving young children : a review of research in practice, in Clark, A., Kjorholt, A. T., and Moss. P.,(eds) (2005) Beyond Listening to children on early childhood services, Bristol: Policy Press. Clark, A., (2005b) Listening to and involving young children : a review of research and practice, in Early Child Development and Care, vol 175 (6), pp. 489-505. Harcourt, D., Perry, B. and Waller, T. (2011) Researching Young Children’s Perspectives: Debating the ethics and dilemmas of education research with children, London: Routledge. Kellet, M. (2010) Rethinking Children and Research: Attitudes in Contemporary Society, London: Continuum.
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