Research with Children as a Methodological Challenge - Reflections from My Own Research Practice
Abstract
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.
References
Alasuutari, M. (2014). Voicing the child? A case study in Finnish early childhood education. Childhood, 21(2), 242–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568213490205
Balen, R., Blyth, E., Calabretto, H., Fraser, C., Horrocks, C. i Manby, M. (2006). Involving children in health and social research: ‘Human becomings’ or ‘active beings’? Childhood, 13(1), 29–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568206059962
Bałachowicz, J. (2009). Style działań edukacyjnych nauczycieli. Między uprzedmiotowieniem a podmiotowością. Wydawnictwo Wyższej Szkoły Pedagogicznej TWP.
Ben-Arieh, A. (2005). Where are the children? Children’s role in measuring and monitoring their well-being. Social Indicators Research, 74(3), 573–595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-004-4645-6
Bray, L. (2007). Developing an activity to aid informed assent when interviewing children and young people. Journal of Research in Nursing, 12(5), 451. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987107078876
Bunio-Mroczek, P. (2021). Badania skoncentrowane na dzieciach, badania z udziałem dzieci, dzieci jako badacze. Etyczne i metodologiczne aspekty badań prowadzonych w nurcie nowej socjologii dzieci i dzieciństwa. Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej, 17(4), 6–26. https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8069.17.4.01
Clark, A. (2005). Talking and listening to children. W: M. Dudek (red.), Children’s spaces, (s. 1–13). Architectural Press.
Cohen, J. i Emanuel, J. (1998). Positive participation: Consulting and involving young people in healt related work. Health Education Authority.
Crane, S. i Broome, M.E. (2017). Understanding ethical issues of research participation from the perspective of participating children and adolescents: A systematic review. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 14(2), 91–99. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12209
Dahl, T.I. (2014). Children as researchers: We have a lot to learn. W: G.B. Melton, A. Ben-Arieh, J. Cashmore, G.S. Goodman i N.K. Worley (red.), The SAGE handbook of child research (s. 593–618). SAGE Publication. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366580206_Children_as_Researchers_We_Have_a_Lot_to_Learn
Dahlberg, G., Moss, P. i Pence, A. (2013). Poza dyskursem jakości w instytucjach wczesnej edukacji i opieki. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Dolnośląskiej Szkoły Wyższej.
Denzin, N.K. i Lincoln, Y.S. (2009). Wprowadzenie. Dziedzina i praktyka badań jakościowych (K. Podemski, tłum.). W: N.K. Denzin i Y.S. Lincoln (red.), Metody badań jakościowych (t. 1, s. 19–62). Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Evang, A. i Øverlien, C. (2015). “If you look, you have to leave”: Young children regulating research interviews about experiences of domestic violence. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 13(2), 113–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X14538595
Gallacher, L.A. i Gallagher, M. (2008). Methodological immaturity in childhood research?: Thinking through ‘participatory methods’. Childhood, 15(4), 499–516, https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568208091672
Gierczyk, M. i Dobosz, D. (2024). Etyka badań partycypacyjnych z udziałem dzieci – wybrane wyzwania i rozwiązania. Dziecko Krzywdzone. Teoria, badania, praktyka, 23(4), 123–147. https://dzieckokrzywdzone.fdds.pl/index.php/DK/article/view/944
Graham, A., Powell, M.A., Taylor, N., Anderson, D. i Fitzgerald, R. (2013). Ethical research involving children. UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/media/9181/file/Ethical-Research-Involving-Children-compendium-2013-EN.pdf.pdf
Hammersley, M. (2017). Childhood studies: A sustainable paradigm? Childhood, 24(1), 113–127. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568216631399
Jarosz, E. (2017). Dziecko i dzieciństwo – pejzaż współczesny: Rzecz o badaniach nad dziećmi. Pedagogika Społeczna, 2, 57–81.
Kellett, M. (2010). Rethinking children and research: Attitudes in contemporary society. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Liamputtong, P. (2007). Researching the vulnerable: A guide to sensitive research methods. SAGE Publications. https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781847878373_A24197474/preview-9781847878373_A24197474.pdf
Lisek-Michalska, J. (2012). Etyczne aspekty badań fokusowych z udziałem dzieci i młodzieży. Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica, 42, 33–61. https://doi.org/10.18778/0208-600X.42.03
Marchão, A., i Henriques, H. (2018). Investigação com crianças: Reflexão sobre a escuta das vozes das crianças através de processos de entrevista [Research with children: Reflection on the listening of children’s voices through interviewing processes]. Aula, 24, 135–144. https://doi.org/10.14201/aula201824135144
Mayall, B. (2013). A history of the sociology of childhood. UCL Institute of Education Press.
Nowicka, M. (2010). Socjalizacja na lekcjach w klasach początkowych. Praktyki, przestrzenie, konceptualizacje. Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek.
Øverlien, C. i Holt, S. (2021). Qualitative interviews with children and adolescents who have experienced domestic violence and abuse. W: J. Devaney, C. Bradbury-Jones, R. J. Macy, C. Øverlien, i S. Holt (red.), The Routledge international handbook of domestic violence and abuse (s. 657–670). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429331053
Sargeant, J. i Harcourt, D. (2012). Doing ethical research with children. McGraw-Hill Education.
Shier, H. (2015). Children as researchers in Nicaragua: Children’s consultancy to transformative research. Global Studies of Childhood, 5(2), 206–219. https://doi.org/10.1177/2043610615587798
Smolińska-Theiss, B. (2010). Rozwój badań nad dzieciństwem – przełomy i przejścia. Chowanna, 34(1), 13–26.
Ward, S.N., Mead Jasperse, S.C., Nguyen, V., Attia, S., Virues-Ortega, J. i Kelly, M.P. (2025). A systematic review of reported assent methodology in early childhood research. Early Education and Development, 36(8), 1996–2015. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2025.2521896
Woollett, N., Christofides, N., Franchino-Olsen, H., Silima, M., Fouche, A. i Meinck, F. (2024). “Children are like vuvuzelas always ready to blow”: Exploring how to engage young children in violence research. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 39(15–16), 3325–3351. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605241230088
Zalewska-Królak, K. (2025). Metodologia badań otwarta na dzieci. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Zbróg, Z. (2024). Praktyki wykluczenia rówieśniczego w grupie pięcioletnich dziewczynek – analiza dyfrakcyjna. Polska Myśl Pedagogiczna, 10, 241–255. https://doi.org/10.4467/24504564PMP.24.013.19967
Zwiernik, J. (2012). Podejście mozaikowe w badaniu doświadczania przez dzieci życia codziennego w instytucjach wczesnej opieki i edukacji. Przegląd Badań Edukacyjnych, 15(2), 159–176.
Zwiernik, J. (2015). Podejścia badawcze w poznawaniu wiedzy dziecka. Teraźniejszość – Człowiek – Edukacja, 18(1), 81–103.
Copyright (c) 2026 Elementary Education in Theory and Practice
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
- When submitting a text, the author declares that he/she is the Author of the article (hereinafter referred to as the “Work”) and:
- he/she owns the exclusive and unlimited copyright to the Work,
- is entitled to dispose of the copyright to the Work.
Declares that it does not infringe any third party copyrights or legal rights.
Declares that there is no conflict of interest.
2. At the same time, the Author grants the Ignatianum University in Cracowa royalty-free, non-exclusive and territorially unlimited licence to use the Work in the following fields of exploitation:
- recording the Work in a hard copy, as well as on a digital or magnetic medium;
- reproduction of the Work using any technique, without limitation of the number of editions or copies;
- distribution of the Work and its copies on any medium, including marketing, sale, lending, and rental;
- introduction of the Work into a computer memory;
- disseminating the Work in information networks, including in the Internet;
- public performance, exhibition, display, reproduction, broadcasting and re-broadcasting, as well as making the Work available to the public in such a way that everyone can have access to it at a time and place of their own choosing;
- within the scope of dependent rights to the Work, including in particular the right to make necessary changes to the Work resulting from editorial and methodical development, as well as to translate the Work into foreign languages;
The licence is granted from the moment of the transfer of the Work to the Ignatianum University in Cracow. The Ignatianum University in Cracow is entitled to grant further sub-licences to the Work within the scope of the right granted. The licence is time-limited and it is granted for a period of 15 years, starting from the date of its granting.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to publish their text online (e.g. in their institution’s repository or on the institution’s website) before or during the submission process as this may lead to beneficial exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of the published text (See The Effect of Open Access). We recommend using any of the following portals of research associations:
- ResearchGate
- SSRN
- Academia.edu
- Selected Works
- Academic Search
