The Scottish Government

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the policy makers, research managers, researchers and young people who took part in interviews for this study and helped us with the mapping exercise. We are very grateful to them for sharing their ideas and experiences with us. Thank you, too, to Fiona McDiarmid and, latterly, Amanda Carty of the Scottish Executive. Finally, we are very grateful to Monica Barry for her comments on an earlier draft of this report.

Contents

Executive Summary (by chapter)
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Setting the context: Between participation and research
Chapter Three: Children and young people doing research - experience from elsewhere
Chapter Four: The Practicalities of involving children and Young people In government funded research
Chapter Five: Understanding the involvement of children and Young people in government funded research
Chapter Six: Conclusions and recommendations
Annex: Recent projects involving children as researchers
Bibliography

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION

· Recent years have seen a growing focus on children's rights and in ways of involving children and young people more directly in decisions that affect their lives. In research terms, this has been reflected in a linguistic shift from talking about 'research on' to research with' and now, increasingly, to 'research by' children and young people.

· But despite widespread commitment to a participatory agenda, a clear policy focus on issues affecting children and young people, and a proliferation of projects outside government giving young people a more direct role in the research process, such approaches have not generally formed a major part of government funded research in Scotland or the UK more generally.

· The principal aim of this project was, therefore, to explore the problems and possibilities of incorporating a 'children as researchers' perspective into the agenda of government social research in Scotland.

· It had three main elements: a mapping of recent projects in Scotland and the UK more generally; a review of existing literature relating to children doing research; and a series of qualitative interviews with researchers, policy makers, research managers and young researchers themselves.

CHAPTER TWO - SETTING THE CONTEXT: BETWEEN PARTICIPATION AND RESEARCH

· Although the notion of children and young people doing research is relatively new, it has clear links to two important other developments: the emergence of the 'participation agenda' relating to this age group; and the broader tradition of 'inclusive' research practices.

· The Scottish Executive (along with a wide range of other public and voluntary bodies) has placed considerable emphasis in recent years on enhancing young people's participation in decisions affecting their own lives. The 'case for participation' tends to draw on arguments relating to 'efficiency' (that participation will produce better outcomes) and on 'empowerment' (that it will improve or change people's lives) - though, in practice, these often overlap.

· But there is an increasing consensus that participation is not an uncomplicated good, and a number of critiques have grown up around issues such as what counts as participation; the dangers of tokenism could explain what is meant by 'tokenism' here; and the need to build not just participatory practices but cultures.

· Research by children and young people needs to be seen as potentially contributing to a 'participation agenda', but as not being immune to the potential criticisms of participatory work in general.

· The notion of children and young people doing research is also linked to other social research traditions including emancipatory, user-led and feminist research. Key themes of relevance from these traditions include the 'participation versus rigour' debate and the idea of shifting the locus of power in research relationships away from a professional research community towards the group being researched.

CHAPTER THREE - CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AS RESEARCHERS: EXPERIENCE FROM ELSEWHERE

· The mapping work carried out as part of this study identified a proliferation of projects involving children and young people in the doing of research. With a small number of notable exceptions, these were mostly one-off projects, and many were based within voluntary and community organisations. Most also involved young people aged 13 and over, though a small number worked with younger children.

· Overall, there were few research projects funded directly by central government departments, though a small number of such examples do exist (both in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK). These often involved children and young people in a relatively limited advisory capacity.

· Two main models of involvement can be identified: 'child-led' projects and children as part of a bigger research team. The former gives primacy to issues of empowerment and control of the research process; the latter involves a spectrum of involvement from children and young people as full 'co-researchers', to 'peer interviewers' or simply 'advisors'.

· Rationales for involving children and young people in the doing of research include the notion that it leads to better research (and hence to better policy-making); that it increases the impact of the research; and that it empowers young people by building skills and self-confidence.

· Other key issues emerging from experience from elsewhere of children and young people doing research include ethical questions, relating to confidentiality, risk of harm, financial recompense, and power in research relationships; and the recurrent question of how to balance young people's participation with the need for high quality, reliable data.

CHAPTER FOUR - THE PRACTICALITIES OF INVOLVING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT FUNDED RESEARCH: STAKEHOLDERS' VIEWS

· The perception of stakeholders inside and outside government is that there is little evidence to date of Scottish Executive-funded work that has directly involved young people in the doing of research, though there is awareness of a handful of projects that have given young people an advisory role.

· This contrasts with the wide range of consultation activities and mechanisms aimed at this age group and with an increasing emphasis on the involvement of young people in carrying out such work. It also stands in tension with an acknowledgement of the importance and relevance of studies through which young people's voices have been articulated as respondents.

· Although there was widespread support in principle for projects giving young people more direct involvement in the research process, there was also concern about some practical and ethical issues, in particular around resources and representativeness.

· Such projects were seen as both time- and resource-intensive, since it may involve the use of youth participation/support workers as well as researchers, development of research training programmes and longer timescales to encourage participation at different stages of the research process. It was widely felt that Scottish Executive procurement processes, budgets and time pressures all meant that such approaches would be difficult to accommodate.

· Other issues connected to time and resources included the impact of staff turnover within the civil service as well as the question of how to keep young people involved during the course of a research project and also what, if any, responsibility the government might have to young researchers on completion of the research.

· Concern about the representativeness of the young people involved in such projects was also evident - in particular, a concern that less able and more excluded young people would not be represented.

CHAPTER FIVE - UNDERSTANDING THE INVOLVEMENT OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT FUNDED RESEARCH: STAKEHOLDERS' VIEWS

· The stakeholders interviewed shared similar rationales for involving children and young people in the doing of research to those identified in the research literature - but there was a particular interest in and focus on the potential for such work to impact on decision-making.

· There was considerable doubt expressed about the possibility of having this type of impact, given the less than linear nature of the research-policy relationship, and, therefore, a focus on other ways of impacting on government policy - whether through consultation, concentrating on local issues or finding other means of children and young people shaping the research agenda - was evident.

· There is a spectrum of views, ranging from traditional perspectives concerned with validity and reliability and training in research skills, to perspectives which do not seem to distinguish clearly between research and other participatory skills and which downplay the need for formal research training.

· There was general agreement that what is needed is clarity about what kind of rationale underpins any particular project.

· Are there any summary conclusions of the views of young people themselves on the involvement of young people in government-funded research?

CHAPTER SIX - CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

· In order to develop a children as researchers' perspective within the Scottish Executive, there appears to be a need for a shift in mindset within government about the possibilities for children and young people's participation in relation to research.

· In taking forward their thinking about children as researchers, the Scottish Executive could, first, make explicit at the procurement stage that, depending on the studies' aims, consultation with young people in the design of studies and, possibly, their involvement in carrying out the research is desirable.

· Second, there may be opportunities for young people to apply for monies through SEED's existing sponsored research programme, particularly in partnerships with children's organisations and professional researchers and academics.

· Third, the Scottish Executive could develop its thinking on young researchers by considering them in the context of its volunteering strategy.

· Fourth, the Scottish Executive could examine what opportunities exist for young people to inform its research agendas and consider whether these could be expanded or improved.

· Finally, developing a network of adult and young researchers with experience in this area might be fruitful in developing ideas and practice and would also create opportunities for young researcher to act as mentors to new young researchers.

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