The significance of multilingual children´s voices in research

Abstract

This paper discusses ethical and methodological aspects of research among multilingual children regarding the inclusion of their voices. The starting point of this paper is a field of tension concerning multilingual children’s participation in research. On the one hand, children have the right to protection, while on the other, they have the right to be heard and should be studied by virtue of being children. The empirical data for our paper were generated through two qualitative ethnographic research projects undertaken in one Norwegian kindergarten. Throughout our fieldwork, we had various encounters with children, teachers, and parents who negotiated and contested the kindergarten’s and our own discourses on multilingualism and specifically categorizations of who is or is not regarded as multilingual. Based on the dialogic concept of voice, discussions on children’s perspectives as an analytical construct, and the positioning of children in research, we explore the ways in which our positionality as ethnographic researchers provides opportunities to include children’s voices. Furthermore, we discuss the challenges the researcher might encounter when establishing legitimate positions between the three groups—children, teachers, and parents—and the aspects of power involved.