INFORMED CONSENT IN SCHOOL-BASED ETHNOGRAPHY: USING VISUAL MAGNETS TO EXPLORE PARTICIPATION, POWER AND RESEARCH RELATIONSHIPS

Abstract

This paper contributes to current ethical and methodological debates on informed consent in research with children and young people. It draws on ethnographic fieldwork conducted with young children (aged 5 to 7) and specifically on the use of photo-magnets which asked the children to indicate their ongoing opting in and out by moving magnetic pictures on a surface in the classroom. Using excerpts from field notes, the paper reflects on how the children’s engagement with the magnets produced insights into their constructions of participation in research, power dynamics and the entanglement of informed consent procedures and research relationships. The paper concludes with stressing the importance of creating a space for conversations around these issues to happen as part of doing research.