Understanding holistic and unique childhoods: knowledge generation in the early years with autistic children, families and practitioners

Parsons, Sarah; Kovshoff, Hanna; Karakosta, Efstathia; Ivil, Kathryn

doi:10.1080/09575146.2021.1889992

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Content : For the ‘I am …’ and ‘Who we are …’ Digital Stories we are following the analysis method summarised in Parsons et al, 2022b) which involved creating a ‘transcript of action’ for each Story that describes what is seen as well as what is said and using our existing ‘I am …’ Digital Story Framework (Parsons et al, 2021) to categorise this information. Once the videos are transcribed, it is possible to collate and represent the data in different ways; for example, Parsons et al, (2021) used word clouds to show the verbs that were used to describe children’s skills and activities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…'I think the Digital Stories are amazing, I loved them so much … I think it would be amazing for schools and professionals to watch prior to the child's start … There is too much pressure on the parents to have to try to explain what their child is like, because you can't explain in words a person, … I don't like the pressure of explaining what my son is like myself, because I worry that I'm not portraying accurately enough … -Anita, Oscar's Mum (https://autismtransitions.org/thoughts-on-digital-stories/) Essential to the success of this research methodology was its co-construction with the children, families, and practitioners in early years practice (Parsons et al, 2021(Parsons et al, , 2022a(Parsons et al, , 2022b. Fundamental to this approach is an epistemological understanding that for research methods aimed at influencing practice, the generation of new knowledge must appropriately recognise, respect, and reflect the individual and local contexts of inquiry (Thomas, 2012), as well as the expertise or craft knowledge of practitioners (Hammersley, 2005;Nind, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Essential to the success of this research methodology was its co-construction with the children, families, and practitioners in early years practice (Parsons et al, 2021, 2022a, 2022b). Fundamental to this approach is an epistemological understanding that for research methods aimed at influencing practice, the generation of new knowledge must appropriately recognise, respect, and reflect the individual and local contexts of inquiry (Thomas, 2012), as well as the expertise or craft knowledge of practitioners (Hammersley, 2005; Nind, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

‘Our Stories...’: Co-Constructing Digital Storytelling Methodologies for Supporting the Transitions of Autistic Children - Study Protocol

Parsons

Kovshoff

Yuill

et al. 2023

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

Self Cite

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The voices of autistic children and their families are routinely underestimated and overlooked in research and practice. Research is challenged methodologically in accessing the views of autistic people who, by definition, are characterised by social and communication difficulties. Consequently, many voices remain unheard and experiences undocumented. This has important implications for the validity of research that is interested in improving the life experiences of marginalised groups since the representation of those experiences is partial and dominated by research perspectives that prioritise particular kinds of evidence. This situation matters because there remains a substantial gap between research and practice such that the longer-term outcomes for autistic people across social, educational and economic indices remain poor. We argue that research can only make an impact on practice if there is a genuine commitment to gathering and understanding these different sources of evidence in ways that connect research and practice from the start. This protocol describes a methodological project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council in the UK. The ‘Our Stories’ project applies and extends a participatory Digital Stories methodology to explore the research challenge of gathering a range of views from autistic children, families, and practice in authentic ways and at points of transition. Digital Stories is an accessible and inclusive methodology that supports the sharing of views and experiences in visual, video form. We describe the rationale for, and design, of the project across four pilot studies in different contexts as well as our approach to analysis and ethics. While our project focuses on autism, the knowledge we gain is applicable to research and practice much more widely and to any voices or groups who are marginalised from the traditional ways of doing research and to any contexts of practice.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Our Stories...’: Co-Constructing Digital Storytelling Methodologies for Supporting the Transitions of Autistic Children - Study Protocol

Parsons

Kovshoff

Yuill

et al. 2023

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This includes providing "childled special place tours" (Green, 2013, p. 13), joining in "walking interviews" around their schools (Green, 2013), or taking photographs of aspects of school life that they associate with "friendships, relationships and wellbeing" (Allan & Jorgerson, 2021, p. 332), illustrating "what it is to be 'included' or 'excluded'" (Dunne et al, 2018, p. 22). Shifting from their traditional positions as the object of others' gaze to being behind the camera, enables child researchers, quite literally, a different point of view (Parsons et al, 2021). Involving children in asking "Whose space is this?"…”

Section: What Space Do I Rightfully Occupy?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Space, Education, and Inclusion

Rißler,

Köpfer,

Buchner

2023

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“…The review also revealed the ethical, social and experiential forces influencing children's agency and their voice in research (Mayne and Howitt, 2015;Halpenny, 2021). Building on these findings, the research team developed specific/tailored protocols for engaging with Dalkilic, 2020;García-Carrión et al, 2020;Parsons et al, 2021), as well as the benefits of adopting co-constructed forms of communication to fully capture children's perspectives (Blaisdell et al, 2021). Therefore, as part of the larger project, children contributed their perspectives about their experiences in education and care settings, including the qualities of the educators with whom they spent their time.…”

Section: An Exemplar Of Children's Contribution In the Research Desig...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Conceptualising the education and care workforce from the perspective of children and young people

Cartmel,

Irvine,

Harrison

et al. 2023

Front. Educ.

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Children are significant stakeholders within education and care settings. Their views can be invaluable in thinking about what matters to conceptualising, assessing and improving quality in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) settings. As stakeholders, children’s views are rarely listened to by Australian policy makers to assess what constitutes quality and how the quality can be improved. In the process of updating two nationally approved Australian Learning Frameworks (ALFs): Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia 2.0 and My Time Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia 2.0, children’s responses provided meaningful insights into their perceptions of the practices of the educators. The children’s perspectives were gathered in a combination of research methodologies of talking circles, dialogic drawing, and visual elicitation. Their responses about experiences in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) contexts were analysed to provide a deeper understanding about the characteristics of their experiences in the settings. The research process delivered information about children’s perspectives about pedagogical principles and practices that describe the Australian children’s education and care workforce and environments. The process of gathering the children’s perspectives is not without limitations, however the information is invaluable in considering the assessment and improvement of quality in children’s services.

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Understanding holistic and unique childhoods: knowledge generation in the early years with autistic children, families and practitioners

Abstract: Understanding holistic and unique childhoods: knowledge generation in the early years with autistic children, families and practitioners

Cited by 6 publications

References 26 publications

‘Our Stories...’: Co-Constructing Digital Storytelling Methodologies for Supporting the Transitions of Autistic Children - Study Protocol

‘Our Stories...’: Co-Constructing Digital Storytelling Methodologies for Supporting the Transitions of Autistic Children - Study Protocol

Space, Education, and Inclusion

Conceptualising the education and care workforce from the perspective of children and young people

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