Research with, by, for and about Children: Lessons from Disaster Contexts

Abstract

There is a need for critically informed studies that include children's perspectives on the role of children in disaster contexts, given the increased incidence of disasters resulting from the global forces of climate change. Three case studies are presented from two different disaster contexts in Australia and New Zealand, where the notion of child empowerment fits within the broader political culture of liberal democracy. Each of these case studies promotes children's right to participate, consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In attempting to provide opportunities for children to articulate their perspective on disaster, this study recognizes the manner in which the increased prevalence and scale of disasters may further complicate and distort possibilities for the actualization of children's participation rights. In doing so the authors recommend a theoryinformed approach, including recognizing the complementarity of competing theories of childhood, and advocate for children's capacity and right to participate in decision-making which affects their lives. This article promotes these concepts while still recognizing their right to safety. It also demonstrates how the use of distancing and framing provides a safe space for child involvement within disasterrelated research, and provides examples of appropriate methodologies to engage children and provide opportunities for meaningful contributions. Finally, implementation partnerships are discussed as a means of embedding the research within existing supported environments.

Leadership in times of crisis: Dispositional, relational and contextual factors influencing school principals’ actions

“…Talking to a caring and trusted adult, finding support from their peers, expressing their feelings through creative activities and maintaining normal routines are ways that schools support children's reintroduction into school life (Bateman & Danby, 2013;Cahill et al, 2010;Keller-Dupree, 2013;Gibbs, Mutch, O'Connor & MacDougall, 2013;Prinstein, La Geca, Vernberg & Silverman 1996;National Association of School Psychologists, 2008). …”

Disaster impact and recovery: what children and young people can tell us

“…A commitment to listening to children's voices needs to be maintained at all times not just in the 'easy' pre-quake period (Gibbs et al 2013;Mutch & Marlowe 2013). In the rebuild period, children need to be an active part of the process.…”

“…This is primarily through the application of appropriate expert intervention, either physical intervention with relief supplies, rebuilding or therapy. However, slightly later research, adopting an approach where children are actively involved in telling their own stories, reveals how children's responses were complex, informed and agentic (Gibbs et al 2013;Mutch & Marlowe 2013).…”

Children in Disaster Risk Reduction in Portugal: Policies, Education, and (Non) Participation

“…In general terms, scientific research has undergone a shift from a paradigm of a children at risk discourse towards a paradigm of a children participatory agenda (Gibbs et al 2013; see also Lopez et al 2012). Protection and provision structure the first paradigm: children are perceived as helpless victims, vulnerable recipients of aid, 1 After fieldwork was conducted, this situation changed somewhat.…”

“…Climate change increases the intensity and frequency of some events (heavy storms, tornados, hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires) and draws them nearer to Western countries, where casualty lists may be smaller but the economic impacts are more severe (Tierney 2014). Events such as the 2005 hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, bushfires in Australia in 2009, or even the 2004 tsunami in the Indian ocean (worsened by global trends in coastal urbanization and tourism) affected Western societies and citizens, and caused large numbers of persons to be killed, injured, and displaced (Peek 2008;Gibbs et al 2013;Fothergill and Peek 2015). The magnitude of these dramatic events also caught the attention of politicians and media as never before and yet the impact of disasters in Western societies is still understudied.…”