Reflections on some ethical implications of researching with primary-aged children

Abstract

This article presents some of the ethical issues encountered during a research project where primary school children were asked for their views about their school life and their education.An opportunity sample of 13 junior-aged pupils in years 5 and 6 on the Special Needs Register were invited to produce a series of drawings of themselves in school and to take part in two Personal Construct Psychology (PCP) conversations about their educational experiences. A case study approach was taken within the naturalistic paradigm of ‘constructivist inquiry’.The drawings were thematically analysed individually and as a group for their content. This involved categorising the content of who, what, where and when and then exploring with the child the underlying emotional messages in the drawings and conversations. A PCP approach was used during the conversations to elicit the constructs and views of the pupils, which were then analysed for both manifest and latent content. A series of discussions with the school Special Needs Co-ordinator (SenCo) enabled the ‘voice’ of the pupil to be taken back, heard and acted upon in school.A major element within the research was the ethical implications of working with and gathering the views of children in school. Some of those implications are discussed here.