The potential of digital technologies for transforming informed consent practices with children and young people in social research

How children and young people understand and exercise their autonomy, engagement and decision-making is fundamental to learning how to become active and engaged citizens, and to be socially included. Digital technologies are increasingly an integral part of children’s everyday lives and, therefore, valuable tools for supporting social inclusion. This paper discusses how digital technologies might positively support autonomy, engagement and decision-making through the lens of informed consent practices within social research. Current research practices are dominated by paper-based methods for obtaining informed consent which could be exclusionary for children and young people generally, and children with additional learning and support needs in particular. Digital technologies (laptops, PCs, tablet devices, smartphones) offer the potential to support accessibility and understanding of ideas and activities, as well as engagement with and autonomy in decision-making and participation. This paper explores this potential as well as the challenges that researchers may face in this context

Knowing me, knowing you: perspectives on awareness in autism

Purpose: This paper raises important questions from the different perspectives on autism research that arose from a seminar on autism and technology, held as part of an ESRC-funded series on innovative technologies for autism. Design/methodology/approach: The paper focuses on the roles of technology in understanding questions about different perspectives on autism: how do people on the spectrum see neurotypicals (people without autism) and vice versa?; how do we use eye-gaze differently from each other?; how might technology influence what is looked at and how we measure this?; what differences might there be in how people use imitation of others?; and finally, how should we study and treat any differences? Findings: We synthesise common themes from invited talks and responses. The audience discussions highlighted the ways in which we take account of human variation, how we can understand the perspective of another, particularly across third-person and second-person approaches in research, and how researchers and stakeholders engage with each other. Originality/value: We argue that the question of perspectives is important for considering how people with autism and neurotypical people interact in everyday contexts, and how researchers frame their research questions and methods. We propose that stakeholders and researchers can fruitfully engage directly in discussions of research, in ways that benefit both research and practice

Enabling success in mathematics and statistics: the effects of self-confidence and other factors in a University College

This thesis reports empirical and theoretical research into learning of mathematics and statistics at university level, with particular regard to students views of their self-confidence and experiences, and the effects of these on achievement. This study was conducted at a time of widespread national concern about difficulties in mathematics education in England, particularly at the transition from school to university Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses. Factors which affected non-specialist students learning of mathematics and statistics were investigated using student surveys in 2004/5, 2005/6 and 2006/7 (701 questionnaires) in the a-typical setting of a University College specialising in rural and land-based higher education. 52 student interviews were also carried out, primarily in 2008 and 2009, and are referred to but are not the main focus of this thesis. Both deductive and inductive approaches were used. Self-confidence was defined using three Mathematics Self-confidence Domains: Overall Confidence in Mathematics, Topic confidences for specific tasks, and Applications Confidence. Self-confidence was considered a belief, whilst liking of the subjects was an attitude, both forming part of affect , where affect comprised beliefs, attitudes and emotions. Student motivation was also investigated. The survey data, and examination and assignment marks, of engineering students learning mathematics and other non-specialist students learning statistics, were analysed both quantitatively (by descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Kruskal Wallis, Correlation, Multiple Regression, Factor and Cluster analyses) and qualitatively. Previous success in mathematics, primarily GCSE Mathematics grade, was found to be the greatest determinant of university students success in mathematics and statistics, but self-confidence and other affective variables also had significantly measurable effects. Significant effects on student confidence were also found for gender and dyslexia despite good achievement. Findings indicate that students self-confidence in mathematics does matter, as evidenced by significant relationships between confidence and achievement, but it was also concluded that these inter-relations were complex. Educators are encouraged to adopt student-focussed teaching styles which improve students self-confidence as a means to improving attainment

Multiple Dimensions of Peer Victimization and Their Relations with Children's Psychological, Social, Behavioral and Academic Functioning

This study investigated the relations among victimization and psychological, social, behavioral, and academic functioning while considering how these constructs are conceptualized and measured. Victimization was treated as a multidimensional variable that can be distinguished in terms of form (relational vs. overt), informant (self vs. teacher vs. peer report), and its overlap with aggression. Participants were 99 ethnically diverse second and third graders from the mid-Atlantic region. The observed relations between victimization and functioning were impacted by issues of informant, form, and aggression. When examining different measures of the same construct, correlations were more often statistically significant for same-informant pairs of measures compared to cross-informant pairs. Correlations between peer and teacher reports were stronger than correlations between self- and other-reports. Self-other agreement was higher for aggression than for victimization, suggesting that victimization is more individualistically experienced than aggression. Peer and teacher reports of victimization were not significantly related to self-reported functioning and vice versa. Teacher and peer reports did not add to self-reports of victimization in predicting self-reported functioning. Peer and teacher reports of victimization uniquely predicted peer and teacher reports of functioning, but self-reported victimization did not make an additive contribution. These results provide evidence of a self-other dichotomy in the assessment of victimization. Overt and relational victimization emerged as distinct constructs in exploratory factor analyses. However, they were significantly correlated, and self-reports of relational victimization did not uniquely predict functioning after accounting for overt victimization. There were not significant gender differences in the two types of victimization. Aggression and victimization were significantly correlated. Peer-reported victimization was related to teacher-reported externalizing and school problems, but was not a significant predictor after accounting for aggression. This finding suggests that failing to account for the overlap between aggression and victimization might obscure the complexity of the relationship between victimization and functioning. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed

Integrating Idea Mapping into Professional Development and Practice: A Guidebook for Educators

The daily metrics of the teaching profession can prove emotionally and physically taxing, especially when compared to the current rapidly growing veil of technological advancement and a lack of support from one’s community and administration in their field. The means of support for professional development, which are often presented in schools for educators, focus mostly on students and content delivery. These programs rarely pay attention to the personal growth of the individual educator. Educators can in turn help themselves if they are provided with the tools and time to do so. Thus, this project seeks to serve that purpose, founded on the theories of Howard Garner, Lev Vygotsky, Paulo Freire, and Jack Mezirow. This project provides a means for further professional support with a focus on the individual, informed by one’s own expertise and educational professional practice. This project takes the from of a workshop guidebook, and integrates the practice of idea mapping with personal experience in the field of education, to provide an easy-to-use program for furthering one’s own planning, organizing, creative, and cognitive skill sets. In practice over time, idea mapping can expand one’s own cognitive abilities, and when employed in a workshop style setting where practitioners can view one another’s thought processes, participants can benefit from witnessing how other’s think and conceptualize projects. Idea mapping has been practiced much in the field of business, however it had yet to be tailored to meet the needs of educators. It is hoped that with the use of this project, educational practitioners will be feel more supported in their field, and that the skills provided will help one to better serve their students and educational community over time

Three essays on special education placement in early childhood and K-12 education

Special education law mandates that children with disabilities be offered free appropriate public education. Under federal policy, schools are responsible for identifying children with disabilities that adversely affect their educational performance and providing services to these students to allow them to learn and thrive in school. Each of the following essays examines student placement in special education to describe how placement practices align with the goals of special education. Each uses national data and regression analysis to empirically examine the relationships between observable child characteristics, policy parameters, and special education placement. The second chapter identifies services and settings in early childhood that are associated with special education placement upon entering school. The third chapter examines processes by which children graduate out of receiving special education services. In the fourth chapter, I examine education funding parameters and their association with special education placement rates. These essays highlight the challenges of special education placement decisions.Includes biblographical reference

Digital technologies for supporting the informed consent of children and young people in research: the potential for transforming current research ethics practice

Much research at the intersection of technology and ethics focuses on the impact of technological developments and innovation on wider society. This discussion considers the intersection of ethics and technology from the opposite direction; that is, how technology itself can support the ethical participation of people – particularly children and young people – in research. Our central argument is that the use of digital technologies (laptops, PCs, tablet devices, smartphones) offers the potential to support the presentation of information about research topics and methodologies, and children’s decision-making about their own participation, more effectively than by traditional, often paper-based, methods

Negotiating the practicalities of informed consent in the field with children and young people: learning from social science researchers

The real-world navigation of ethics-in-practice versus the bureaucracy of institutional ethics remains challenging. This is especially true for research with children and young people who may be considered vulnerable by the policies and procedures of ethics committees but agentic by researchers. Greater transparency is needed about how this tension is navigated in practice to provide confidence and effective strategies for social researchers, including those new to the field, for negotiating informed consent. Twenty-three social science researchers with a range of experience were interviewed about their practices for gaining informed consent from children and young people in social research and the development of their ‘ethics in practice’ over time. Main themes focused on navigating ethics protocols within institutions, practices to prepare for data collection, and a critical evaluation of the resources that can be applied to gaining consent and managing relationships. A range of methods and concrete steps that address ethical challenges are outlined to illustrate what can be done in practice to achieve authentic consent and appropriate participation