Elementary Education in Theory and Practice

Introduction

Zuzanna Joanna Zbróg — 2026-03-30

Conducting Research with Children on Sensitive Topics – Ethics in Research Design and Implementation

Zuzanna Joanna Zbróg — 2026-03-30

The aim of this article is to reflect on the methodology and ethical challenges that arose during a study involving children of early primary school age. Using the example of exploring the subject of death, ways of implementing international ethical standards are presented in situations where the subject of the study is sensitive and may cause discomfort to the participants. The issue of adults’ and children’s informed consent to participate in this type of research and the special care taken to ensure their emotional well-being at various stages of research planning and implementation are discussed in detail. The choice of research methods and techniques that minimise the risk of causing stress to the subjects when talking about a difficult topic is justified. Selected statements by children that, from the researcher’s point of view, may pose an ethical challenge are quoted, along with corresponding examples of the researcher’s responses. A basic model of researcher responses in line with ethical standards for research conducted in children’s focus groups is also presented.

Map Of Problem Fields In Social Research Involving Children Based On Focus Group Interviews

Małgorzata Michel — 2026-03-30

The article presents the results of research creating maps of topics and problem areas in social research involving children. Fifteen people from research centres in Poland took part in focus group interviews (FGIs). The research question was: What formal problems, ethical and methodological dilemmas do people conducting social research involving children experience? Thematic analysis and problem area mapping techniques were used to analyse the data. Sets of codes, themes and problem areas were created: the substantive scope of research in contexts, the voice of the child and problem areas, the age of children, strategies and types of social research involving children, methodological, ethical and formal problems, and the needs of researchers. Results of the analysis: research involving children has become popular in Poland; those conducting it rarely use ready-made codes and good practices; most methodological and ethical problems are dilemmas, which forces researchers to constantly make difficult decisions; those conducting research involving children should have specific competences, skills and knowledge in the fields of law, psychology, pedagogy, interpersonal communication, safety procedures, etc.; there is a need to train people who sit on research ethics committees and make decisions/evaluate research projects involving children, and to standardise the practices of committees and evaluation criteria. Recommendation of the report: there is a need to develop a standard for social research involving children in Poland.

Empowering Preschool Children in Giving Informed Assent Participate in Research

Hanna Łoboda — 2026-03-30

This article addresses researchers’ efforts to support preschool children in giving informed assent to participate in research. The aim is to present selected methods of empowering children in this regard. The introduction outlines the theoretical foundations of childhood studies and informed consent, and identifies a research gap. Next, the author’s methodology for qualitative research with children on the operation of a forest kindergarten is described. The research used constructivist grounded theory, participant observation, visual techniques, document analysis, and unstructured interviews. The results indicate that data triangulation, taking time to establish relationships, and developing communication skills in both children and researchers can contribute to preschool children’s empowerment in expressing informed assent to participate in research. The literature, in Polish and English, published between 2000 and 2025 on preschool children’s assent to participate in research, excluding medical research, emphasises the adequacy of qualitative methods and the need to ensure children’s safety. Activities that strengthen children’s agency include assigning pseudonyms or having participants sign assent forms appropriate for their age, as well as preparing a child-friendly version of the research report. These strategies can be recommended for research practice in the field of childhood studies.

Research with Children as a Methodological Challenge - Reflections from My Own Research Practice

Edyta Nowosielska — 2026-03-30

The aim of this paper is to characterize the key challenges in research with early school-age children (grades 1–3), with an emphasis on practical, ethical, and methodological aspects. The research problem is as follows: what methodological and ethical challenges arise in research “with the participation of children”, and how do they affect the collection and interpretation of data? The method applied was a reflective analysis of research practice based on documentation from the author’s own projects (e.g. NCN Miniatura, focus groups), interview protocols, field notes, and pedagogical literature. Drawing on experience from four research projects involving children, the author analyses ethical difficulties encountered by the researcher (informed assent/consent of the child, protection from stress and from disclosure of personal data), methodological challenges (fragile attention span, difficulties with verbalization, and the interpretation of children’s narratives shaped by cultural context), and practical issues (school logistics, 30–45 minute sessions, adapting to group dynamics). The findings indicate the need for a paradigm shift in research with children -from viewing them as objects of observation towards recognizing them as active participants in social life. Such an approach requires not only adjusting methodology to the specific nature of working with children, but also exercising particular ethical sensitivity in the researcher–child relationship. It is also necessary to take into account the socio-cultural context, which significantly shapes the authenticity and credibility of the data obtained. Research methods should be flexible and creative, so as to enable.

The Mosaic Approach in Participatory Research Involving Children: Children’s Perspectives on Educational Space

Marta Kondracka-Szala — 2026-03-30

This article presents the Mosaic approach as a framework for participatory research with children and illustrates its application through the author’s project School Space and Students’ Well-Being (June 2025). The study explored children’s perspectives on school space in relation to well-being, addressing five specific questions: how children perceive school spaces; which places they find supportive or stressful; what meanings and emotions they attribute to different locations; how they visualize school space in self-created maps; and what changes they propose to make school more supportive. The research employed Mosaic methods combining child-led photo-walks, individual mapping of school space with children’s photographs, participatory observation (“adult tile”), and an incomplete-sentences worksheet. Qualitative analysis of photographs, maps, observation notes, and children’s comments showed that children experience school space as multidimensional and relational. Three recurring patterns were identified: space as a facilitator of peer relations and belonging; space as a resource for emotional regulation and concentration, especially in quiet and predictable classroom environments; and space as a domain of expression and agency, reflected in children’s appreciation of thematic rooms and proposals for spatial improvements. The findings confirm that the Mosaic approach enables ethically sensitive and developmentally appropriate access to children’s lived experiences of educational environments.

Childhood as an Autobiographical Narrative – Korczak’s Roots and More…

Anna Górka-Strzałkowska — 2026-03-30

The article addresses the issue of childhood understood as an autobiographical narrative created by the child itself. The aim of the text is to reconstruct the idea of childhood as a story about one’s own life, in which the child becomes the narrator and author from the perspective of childhood studies. The starting point is Korczak’s concept of dialogue and equality in adult–child relations, developed in the context of qualitative and biographical research. The method of narrative and biographical analysis was used, including the interpretation of memoirs, diaries, letters and children's statements as sources of socio-cultural knowledge. The argument shows the evolution of the approach from traditional, ‘adult’ reconstruction of biographies to a ‘new’ biographical method based on dialogue, relationality and the subjectivity of the child. The analysis includes examples from Korczak to contemporary research on childhood in extreme situations and narratives of everyday life. The results indicate that children’s autobiographies reveal the subjective, emotional dimension of experiences and constitute fully-fledged cultural texts. The conclusions emphasise the need for ethical partnership in research involving children and for recognising their voice as a source of knowledge about society. It is recommended to develop participatory and narrative methods in pedagogy and to take the child’s perspective into account in scientific reflection and educational practice.

Image and Word as a Space of Ethical Dialogue Between Researcher and Child: Conceptual and Methodological Foundations of an Original Research Method

Małgorzata Karczmarzyk — 2026-03-30

The article presents the author’s method of visual-verbal dialogues as an ethical and participatory approach to working with children in early childhood education. The objective is to examine how image and word can serve as complementary tools of ethical dialogue, enabling children to co-create meaning with adults. The study addresses the lack of dialogical, partnership-based methods in research with children, where hierarchical relations often reduce their agency. The method is grounded in C.S. Peirce’s semiotic triad (object–sign–interpretant) and combines art-based research (ABR) with participatory pedagogy. It has a qualitative character and is illustrated with short case studies of visual-verbal dialogues conducted in Poland, in the Pomeranian region, in 2025, across various contexts (child–parent–researcher, child–parent, child–teacher). The article introduces the theoretical and ethical foundations of the method, then presents three case studies, each mapped onto Peirce’s triad, followed by analysis of their educational significance. The results show that the method supports children’s language development, emotional expression, and sense of agency. It also reveals children’s needs that are difficult to verbalize, while the adult perspective contributes dimensions of care, community, and responsibility. Visual-verbal dialogues offer a practical tool for early childhood education, especially in art lessons, supporting shy or sensitive children and fostering empathy and cooperation in the classroom. The method integrates conceptual, methodological, and ethical dimensions, proving useful both in research with children and in educational practice.

Difficulties in Quantitative Research Involving Nursery Children – Reflections Based on the Researcher's Experience

Ewelina Świdrak — 2026-03-30

The aim of this article is to analyze the difficulties encountered when conducting quantitative research with children under three years of age in nurseries, in the context of contemporary concepts of childhood research. The research issues encompass methodological, ethical, and organizational challenges related to planning and implementing research with the youngest children. The research problem addressed in the article is formulated as follows: what specific types of difficulties can be identified in the process of conducting quantitative pedagogical research involving children under the age of three, and how can these difficulties be overcome? The article adopts a methodological and reflective approach. The study is based on a qualitative reflexive analysis of the researcher’s own experience combined with a critical review of relevant literature and research documentation generated during empirical studies conducted in nursery settings. The argument follows a problem-oriented structure, including: an outline of key assumptions of childhood studies, an analysis of ethical, methodological and practical difficulties, and a synthesis of conclusions. The analysis identifies specific challenges related to obtaining consent, the limited availability of standardised research tools, the risk of subjective assessments, and organisational factors linked to family circumstances and children’s health. The results indicate that effective research in this age group requires adapting methods to children's abilities and close collaboration with caregivers. The conclusions emphasize the need for further development of research tools and conducting research consistent with the concept of child agency.

“Why Do We Read, and What Would Happen if Books Suddenly Disappeared?” – Reflections of Younger Pupils From Białystok

Anna Józefowicz — 2026-03-30

The article continues research on the reading preferences of younger pupils from Białystok schools. In 2025, I published results concerning children’s forms of contact with books, their favourite literary characters, and their ideas for their own stories. The aim of the present article is to explore children’s reflections on the value of books and their understanding of the importance of reading in everyday life and in a broader socio-cultural context. The guiding research question was: What purposes does reading serve for children, and what meaning do they attribute to it? This refers to their subjective experience – what they think when choosing a book, why they read, and what they gain from the activity on emotional, cognitive, and social levels. The study is grounded in childhood studies, which view the child as an active co-constructor of meaning. The research was conducted within a qualitative paradigm using focus group interviews. 16 focus groups were carried out with 96 pupils aged 9–10 from 8 primary schools. The discussions, held in familiar school settings, focused on two questions: Why do we read? and What would happen if books disappeared? The material was analysed thematically to reconstruct the ways in which children make sense of reading practices. The article consists of theoretical, methodological, and empirical sections. The findings show that children perceive reading primarily as a source of knowledge, inspiration, and entertainment, and less often as emotional support. The conclusions emphasise the importance of incorporating children’s perspectives into educational practice and reading-promotion initiatives, as well as the need for further research into reading motivation in an evolving cultural and technological environment.

Autonomous and Heteronomous Roles of the Teacher in the Development of Early Reading Literacy

Jolana Ronkova — 2026-03-30

Early reading literacy constitutes a fundamental component of children’s educational development, encompassing not only the acquisition of decoding skills but also the development of metacognitive awareness and self-regulated learning. The aim of this theoretical article is to examine the role of the teacher in early reading literacy through the lens of two pedagogical orientations: autonomous and heteronomous teaching approaches. Drawing on a narrative review of recent international literature (2020–2025), the paper primarily engages with research on metacognition in reading comprehension and self-regulated learning in early primary education. Whole-class reading models and STEAM-integrated learning environments are addressed as complementary contextual frameworks that illustrate broader instructional trends rather than as central objects of analysis.

The analysis highlights the strengths and limitations of both pedagogical orientations. Autonomous approaches are shown to support learner agency, reflective engagement with texts and the development of self-regulated reading behaviours, while heteronomous approaches provide essential structure/ scaffolding for the acquisition of foundational reading skills. The article argues that effective early literacy instruction requires a balanced and context-sensitive integration of both approaches, adapted to pupils’ developmental readiness and classroom conditions. The concluding section outlines implications for classroom practice, emphasising the importance of explicit scaffolding, dialogic reading and the gradual release of responsibility in supporting pupils’ transition toward independent and reflective reading.

Tender Didactics: an Autoethnographic Perspective on the Sexuality Education of Future Teachers

Justyna Ratkowska-Pasikowska — 2026-03-30

The article presents an autoethnographic reflection on the education of future teachers in the field of child sexuality. It draws on the author’s experience as a university lecturer conducting a module on sexuality in education at XXX (data anonymized). The aim of the study is to explore how emotions, beliefs, and cultural taboos influence prospective teachers’ readiness to engage in conversations about child sexuality, and what forms of reflective pedagogy support them in overcoming fear and uncertainty. The author poses the following questions: (1) What patterns of student reactions emerge in micro-educational interactions? (2) How do the lecturer’s position and emotions shape the course of these interactions? (3) Which teaching strategies enhance the sense of agency in discussing the body, relationships, and safety? Autoethnography enables the identification of emotional, social, and linguistic tensions that shape teacher education processes. The text emphasizes that a teacher’s competence does not end with knowledge but begins with self-awareness. Inherited patterns of silence, shame, and avoidance concerning sexuality must be recognized before they become part of the hidden curriculum. Reflective pedagogy is understood here not only as a teaching method but as an attitude – grounded in presence and readiness to confront what is uncomfortable yet necessary.

Economic Education in Children’s Novels

Raszka Raszka — 2026-03-30

The article concerns literary texts describing the bevaviours of children as economic subjects. Its aim is to present and compare the economic behaviours of the protagonists in three children's novels: Bankruptcy of Little Jack by Janusz Korczak (1924, 1966, 1994), Jules and the Hole in the Budget (2017) and Jules and this Whole Business (2020) by Sylwia Wojciechowska. The novels are written in an educational discourse style, which means that their plot and language comply with educational conventions. In the textual analysis, referring to excerpted passages, we focus on economic concepts and ways they are defined, as well as on the behaviour of the protagonists. Furthermore, we emphasise the cognitive (economic education in the 20^th and 21^st centuries) and didactic values of the compared novels. We pay particular attention to the adult’s (non-)subjective approach towards children. We believe that the financial competencies (e.g. saving, earning, managing savings, financial planning, etc.) acquired by the protagonists can inspire discussions about financial decision-making or the actual management of money by children. We are convinced that, too little significance is attached to economic education of the youngest children. Therefore, we recommend Sylwia Wojciechowska’s novels for reading in grades 1–3 of primary school.