Peer-reviewed article
Reflexivity and ethical mindfulness in participatory research with children: What does it really look like?
Antonia Canosa, Anne P. Graham, Erica Wilson ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This article examines the ethical challenges and practices involved in conducting participatory research with children and young people in Australia. The authors emphasize the importance of reflexivity and ethical mindfulness when involving young people as active participants in research. The study found that while participatory approaches offer significant benefits, they also require researchers to take on increased ethical responsibility to ensure meaningful and inclusive participation.
Key points
- Participatory research with children offers important benefits when young people are actively involved in the research process
- Democratizing the research process increases ethical responsibility for researchers
- Reflexive and relational approaches are necessary to achieve meaningful and inclusive participation
- Prolonged engagement in the field deepens understanding of young people's lived experiences
- Research with young people growing up in tourist destinations reveals challenges in identity, belonging and community connection
Limitations
This article is methodological and reflective in nature, focusing on ethical approaches rather than evaluating specific interventions or outcomes for child well-being. It does not provide quantitative data or measurable impacts on children's lives.
Abstract
This article draws attention to the ethical nuances of conducting participatory research with children and young people growing up in a popular tourist destination in Australia. It responds to calls for more reflexively oriented approaches to documenting the ethical dimensions of qualitative research, particularly with children. Prolonged engagement in the field facilitated a deeper understanding of young people’s lived experiences and the challenges they face in negotiating identity, belonging and connection with community. Findings reveal there are a number of important benefits when actively involving young people in research. With the democratisation of the research process, however, comes an increased ethical responsibility which requires a reflexive and relational approach if meaningful and inclusive participation is to be achieved.