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Empowering Children and Young People as Researchers: Overcoming Barriers and Building Capacity

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Abstract

This paper explores the concept of children-as-researchers through an exposition of the pioneering work of the Children’s Research Centre (CRC) at the Open University, UK, http://childrens-research-centre.open.ac.uk. It situates this work of the Centre within an empowerment and rights framework and charts its journey, from the first pilot work to its recognition as a centre with significant international reach. The paper focuses on issues, challenges and outcomes and draws on examples of children’s research. The impact of child-led research, in terms of contribution to the body of knowledge on childhoods and our understanding of children’s lived experiences, are examined along with a discussion of how child-led research can be influential in policy and practice contexts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK

    Mary Kellett

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  1. Mary Kellett
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Correspondence to Mary Kellett.

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It is recognised that empowerment is a contested term, used in different ways in different contexts. In this article it is being used to connote the facilitation of children’s autonomy, so that they have some control of their own lives.

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Kellett, M. Empowering Children and Young People as Researchers: Overcoming Barriers and Building Capacity. Child Ind Res 4, 205–219 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-010-9103-1

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