RESEARCH ITINERARIES: THE PARTICIPATION OF YOUNG CHILDREN IN THE ACADEMIC FIELD

Abstract

This article aims to build on the existing methodological possibilities in the academic field that can support research carried out with young children. The reflections presented result from a selection of bibliographic studies and discussions developed throughout the scientific productions of the study and research group on corporeality and playfulness (GEPCOL). The central concern is: how can children’s participation in research be ensured without neglecting their rights and protagonism? To this end, a qualitative approach was used, based on bibliographic research, following Marconi and Lakatos (2003) and Gil (2002). The study encompasses legislations and treaties that guarantee children’s rights, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the Statute of Children and Adolescents (1990), among other national and international documents. The discussion also engages with theorists such as Clifford Geertz (1989), Corsaro (2011), Sarmento (2005; 2013), Carpentier (2001), Lansdown (2009), Larrosa (1999), Brougère (1995, 1998, 2001), Kohan (2010), Huizinga (1990), Gregory Bateson (1977), Steinberg and Kincheloe (2001), Brian Sutton-Smith (2017), Jean Château (1987), Michel Maffesoli (1984, 1987, 1998), Eisenhart and Howe (1992), Konrad Lorenz (1986, 1993), among others. The discussions articulate concepts such as methodologies, autonomy, and children’s participation, emphasizing the importance of recognizing them as subjects of rights and protagonists in research processes. The results indicate that there is an emerging need in the field to value children’s discourse as social actors who produce and communicate, offering reliable views of the world while maintaining their right to actively participate in it.