He who wears the shoe knows where it pinches

The title says it all: We are all experts on our own living conditions, women, men, children, adolescents, retirees. We can all judge whether our living conditions are satisfactory to us or not. But whose opinion is heard? Who decides? Whose needs eventually lead to change? The hundred or so researchers - adults as well as youngsters - attending the conference "Researching Children", which took place between the 10^th and the 12^th of December 2007 at the SOS Children's Villages Hermann Gmeiner Academy, decided unanimously: children and youth must not only be asked, they must also be heard and involved in decision-making. And they must be allowed to decide for themselves how they want to collect data. Because young people actually CAN do that.

Plenty of evidence to that effect was presented during the conference. In the opening presentation, Ros Frost from the University of Cambridge presented her project, in which adolescents were not only assisted in their work for their research projects, they gradually became independent enough to transfer the knowledge they had acquired to other young people in a second phase. Ros Frost refers to them as the "young leaders of research".

Sharing power, relinquishing control: This is where the grown-ups come in!

Of course, doing research with children and youth requires certain preconditions. Andy Simpson of the Birmingham Association of Youth Clubs mentions, among other factors, the willingness of adults to share power: the juveniles decide on the questions to be researched, on the methods, and they also have the final say on "their" results. They are not only the source of this data, to be used at will; they are also the owners of it. But adults must also be willing to face critical questions and hand over control over the research process if children and youth are to be taken seriously.

In this respect, the last day of the conference belonged entirely to the young researchers. On this day, they presented the results of their various research projects - a potpourri of topics ranging from "Young People and Sports" or "Young People and Beauty" to "Muslims in Austria" and "Climate Change". Young people aged 14 to 16 explained their methods, results and the conclusions they drew from them. They also spoke out on the areas where they see room for improvement: for instance, the staff of their favourite ski resort could be friendlier to juveniles and the ramps in the skateboard park should be repaired and access free, to avoid juveniles having to hang around town with nothing to do. As far as diversity of methods is concerned, young people can teach grown-ups a lesson or two: huge posters, films - home-made or organized from acquaintances - as well as a theatre play, tell of the enthusiasm, creativity and hard work they put into their projects.

What are the methods, what is the framework of conditions?

The questions those present - in this case mainly the adults - were asking themselves were: What kind of preconditions are necessary for research work with children and youths to have a real impact and not just be used as an alibi? Methods were presented as well as studies concerning the question how and if these methods might be put to use in research work with youths. Susanne Vogl of the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, for one, analysed the method known as focus groups and found out in which age groups these focus groups can be put to effective use. Werner Reichmann, of the University of Konstanz brought it to the point in his presentation: "We must either find new methods or - and this is the very least - adapt the old ones". 

One frequently asked question in this context was: How can we make sure that the children and youths really benefit from these processes and results? A variety of experiences and theories were discussed, and all agreed that young people benefit from such projects on the personal level at the very least: They are proud of the work they have done, present their results and get actively involved in an area that is usually discarded as a purely adult domain - this alone is a gratifying experience and certainly good for self-esteem.

How to put the results to use?

Concerning the topic of "expertise": The fact that children and young people can make a real contribution even to a subject as complex as organizational development is demonstrated by a project initiated by SOS Children's Villages: Children and youths were invited to say what they would like to improve about their surroundings. The results were highly interesting. However, they must now be put to use - and THIS is where many research projects experience difficulties. Many of the organizers of this conference commented on this aspect in their final statements: Collecting data is one thing, to take them where decisions are made, that is, politics, and thereby make a real, tangible difference, is a different story altogether.

And it really wouldn't take much in some cases: In his presentation, Peter Egg of the University of Innsbruck showed us a photo that spoke for itself: the picture of boy aged about seven walking straight into a letterbox, banging his head painfully. Right across the picture, he wrote: "Leturboxes shudlnt be putted up on streat cornurs." Trivial, you say? Just take a look around at where letterboxes are put up! Or take a look at our so-called "public spaces", any given European city. What do we see? Bars, restaurants, shops, cafés.

Peter Egg puts this picture into contrast with Innsbruck's city center: we see bars, restaurants, shops, cafés. And right smack in the middle: 300 square meters of sand, one huge sandpit. After all, around half the earth's population are aged 24 or less. To refuse all these people the right to participate in the design of their surroundings is what Peter Egg calls oppression: "Everyone has the right to talk and think about our society." Children and youngsters do. And they have a lot say.

(kd)