Peer-reviewed article
The Value of Child Participation in Research —A Qualitative Child-Centered Approach to the Early Development of an Empowerment Inventory for Children
Rita Karoline Olsen ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study explores how children can meaningfully participate in research by involving them in developing a tool to measure children's sense of empowerment. The researchers used a child-centered approach to create and refine the Sense of Empowerment Inventory for Children (SEIC). The study found that children's involvement improved both the quality of the measurement tool and deepened understanding of participation as an ongoing process rather than a one-time activity. The findings demonstrate the value of including children as active contributors to research rather than just subjects of study.
Key points
- Children's participation led to specific changes and improvements in the empowerment inventory tool
- Children's involvement enhanced understanding of participation as a process
- The study demonstrates methodological value of including children in participatory research processes
- Child-centered approaches can improve the quality of tools designed for children
Limitations
This study describes the development of a measurement tool but does not evaluate whether the resulting inventory successfully measures empowerment or whether it leads to improved outcomes for children. The document does not report quantitative effectiveness data or provide details on sample size or study implementation.
Abstract
Child participation has become a conscious goal for support services related to children and young people, but there is still uncertainty regarding how this can be facilitated.This study explores the value of children's participation in research and is based on a "child-centred" approach to the early development of a participation tool called the "Sense of Empowerment Inventory for Children" (SEIC).The main finding in this study concerns both the specific changes that were proposed by the children and how this affected the quality of the tool, but also how the children's involvement had an impact on understanding participation as a process.This study adds knowledge to a methodological approach that supports the value and benefit of including children in participatory processes in research.