The Life Story Board: A Task-Oriented Research Tool to Explore Children’s Perspectives of Well-Being

Abstract

A multinational study to understand well-being from children’s perspectives in the Children’s Worlds International Survey of Children’s Well-being (ISCWeB) recently undertook qualitative analytical research to explore children’s conceptualization of well-being in Children’s Understanding of Well-being (CUWB). This has challenged researchers to utilize methods that are meaningful and engaging, child-centred and balance children’s rights to participation and protection, and are practical and time-expedient. The paper describes the findings from a qualitative investigation of a task-oriented research tool, the Vidaview Life Story Board (LSB), used to explore school-age children’s understanding of well-being. Twenty-one children between 8 and 12 years of age from the Canadian pilot of the CUWB were interviewed using the LSB. The children and the interviewer were asked to assess their experience with the LSB. Results suggested that children found the LSB to be engaging and helpful to facilitate their articulation of subjective well-being. The main themes that emerged were: autonomy and inclusiveness; validation of children’s experiences and agency; and child-centred approach. The findings suggest that the LSB seems to be a promising participatory, child-centred, rights-based qualitative research tool.