ICDI, together with Stichting De Vrolijkheid, gave the first of two training sessions to the Children’s Research Group in the asylum centre in Burgum, in the northern Netherland’s province of Friesland. Six enthusiastic kids between the ages of 10 and 13, three girls and three boys, have learned how to formulate a (social) research question and which methods they can use to gather information and answers. Topics that will be addressed are bullying amongst children in the asylum centre, safety for children within the centre and how children experience the after school programme, called Nest.
Children have long been the ‘objects’ of research, but research by children as ‘active participants’ is relatively new. Research with and by children recognises that children are experts on their lives and that their experiences and opinions are different to adults. It acknowledges children’s right to be heard and their views to be taken seriously.
This week, on the 9th of June, a second training session will take place, in which we will pay attention to interviewing techniques, questionnaires, and interpretation of research data. After that, the young researchers will start conducting their own researches. Later, they hope to present the results to peers, parents, employees of the asylum centre and other people living in the village of Burgum. The aim is to make the voice of children heard, so that their opinions are taken into account.
Are you interested in our training Children as Researchers? Click here for more information, or contact us: tel: +31 71 5127420, email: icdi@icdi.nl .
