Abstract:
Given the extent to which children are increasingly immersed within the digital environment, research on children's digital childhoods is of growing significance. In fact, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its General Comment No. 25 (2021) on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment, recognises (para. 30) that up-to-date research is critical. As school is a central part of children’s lives, and technology becomes increasingly embedded into schools, it is essential to conduct research on children’s use of digital technologies for learning.
However, school-based research is not without its challenges. Based on semi-structured interviews with ‘digital childhoods’ researchers across a range of Australian jurisdictions, we share participants’ experiences, and the frequent challenges they encounter, when seeking approval to conduct research in schools. These challenges may stem from university ethics processes, or from the research approval processes instituted by departments of education or school authorities. Our findings seem to indicate a changing landscape in terms of the extent to which departments of education and other school authorities are prepared to approve research in schools, as well as in terms of the timelines and conditions that apply to gaining approval. We use our findings to discuss implications and recommendations regarding the conduct of research in school contexts, generally, as well as for children’s rights, agency, and voice.
However, school-based research is not without its challenges. Based on semi-structured interviews with ‘digital childhoods’ researchers across a range of Australian jurisdictions, we share participants’ experiences, and the frequent challenges they encounter, when seeking approval to conduct research in schools. These challenges may stem from university ethics processes, or from the research approval processes instituted by departments of education or school authorities. Our findings seem to indicate a changing landscape in terms of the extent to which departments of education and other school authorities are prepared to approve research in schools, as well as in terms of the timelines and conditions that apply to gaining approval. We use our findings to discuss implications and recommendations regarding the conduct of research in school contexts, generally, as well as for children’s rights, agency, and voice.