Guest blog post by Dr Sara Williams, Senior Lecturer and Researcher (Environmental Psychology)
Welcome to our blog post, where we share a novel methodology that we designed and implemented in the Arts and Humanities Research Council funded Voices in a Pandemic (Children’s Lockdown Experiences Applied to Recovery) (VIP-Clear) research project. VIP-Clear is a longitudinal project conducted in partnership with schools located in socially disadvantaged areas of Bristol, a city in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a soon to be published paper in the journal, ‘Children and Society’, we report on the final stages of the research process and share a summary of our findings here. The objective was to explore children’s hopes, ambitions, and the support they envision needing while looking forward to the recovery phase from the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are two main messages in this paper; the first is that children need to be meaningfully included in responses to, and planning for their aspirations in supporting recovery, future emergencies like pandemics, and this means all children – not just those that we hear from often. To achieve this type of engagement, not only does attention need to be paid to the methods used and the recruitment strategies, but those conducting research with children need to be able to create an environment where children are more likely to share their authentic thoughts and feelings. This means that they need to be aware of their positions of power of influence in creating a space where children can tell their stories, not the stories that they think adults want to hear. We designed a child centred 2-stage research activity using a tree metaphor (The Tree(s) of Hope and Ambition) as a means to delve into children’s inner worlds. By using this metaphor, we encouraged children to express their aspirations, reflect on their emotions, and highlight their support needs. The method is a child-centred, arts-based, research method aimed at uncovering children’s visions of their futures, fostering self-reflection, and amplifying their voices within the research community and more widely. The goal was to create an unfiltered platform for children to share their thoughts and experiences with both their peers, those in charge (like teachers and policy makers and researchers).
The second important message is about hope. Unravelling the intricate web of themes that emerged from the children’s narratives, we discovered a tapestry of diversity, intersectionality, and individuality, with themes expanding from the child and their immediate family to broader timescales. Children’s hopes for the future are both diverse and specific. Children have good ideas about the support that they need to achieve these hopes too. We discuss our results in detail in the new paper under 3 main themes. The identified themes encompassed various dimensions, including emotions (concerns and empathy), experiences (events, available resources, skills, and aspirations), and relationships, all of which were intricately linked to the children’s recent encounters with COVID-19 mitigation measures.
Throughout the forthcoming paper, we engage in critical reflection on the positionality of both the children and the researchers involved. We recognize the complexities inherent in designing research methods that prioritize children’s autonomy, agency, and authenticity. It is crucial to navigate these intricacies to ensure that children’s voices are genuinely heard and respected within the research process. By sharing our experiences and findings, we aim to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on child-centred research methodologies. We invite fellow researchers, educators, and practitioners to explore this innovative approach, adapt it to their contexts, and continue fostering children’s active participation and authentic engagement in research.
Children’s experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic were individual and unique. They deserve to be represented in their own words and listened to, with their contributions acted upon. Examining their hopes for the future can help us learn from experiences and has the potential to inform future planning for pandemics and other global-social emergencies. Some of the principles and practices are transferable to supporting children through other social shocks, such as climate change.
All the resources and outputs from the project can be accessed on www.vip-clear.org.
The published article can be accessed via the online library.