Involving refugee children in research: emerging ethical and positioning issues

Abstract

This paper discusses some of the ethical issues encountered when involving refugee children in research. It draws on a study that aims to investigate how young Syrian refugee children experience Early Education, in one English local authority. This small-scale qualitative piece of research was developed in response to the deepening refugee crisis outlined by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in August 2013 which suggested that as a result of the conflict in Syria, 740,000 refugees were under the age of 11. The study involves four children and their families – who were resettled in England through the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement scheme (2017). Also involved are four Early Childhood and Education Care settings. The research field is complex and the ‘customised methods and methodologies’ which have been adopted, to respond well to the challenges of the field, are described. Ethical issues concerning the conceptualisation of refugees, a narrative of trauma and location of positionality are expanded. The researcher has developed power-sensitive ethical research practices to help manage issues of positionality; negotiate access in the field; develop authentic relationships; address issues of cultural bias in self and others, and navigate the challenges of researching with very young refugee children.