6 Attuning in practice: establishing a successful research platform
In this last section you will look at a case-study which was successful in ensuring that everything was set up as well as possible for the voices of the children and young people to be heard. Throughout this Session you have seen that research with and by children and young people involves their full participation but there are also many other participants and issues to be taken into consideration. Communication is key; the WeCan2 project shows one way of ensuring that the adults were attuned to the young people. Click on the link below to read the article, then try the activities which follow. Remember to open the link in a new tab or window so you can refer back to the activity.
Case study: WeCan2 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
The WeCan2 project involved working with young with learning difficulties, yet the findings are applicable in any situation. As you work through this next activity, consider how important all of the advice is to anyone who wishes to work with others.
Activity 8
Imagine you are giving advice to a friend or colleague who wishes to have a meeting, or conduct some research with a child or young person, or a group of children or young people. Using the six bullet-points from the summary of the WeCan2 project, write 6 sentences that advise them what is the best way of going about this.
Discussion
You should have come up with something like this:
Speak more slowly.
Send minutes in advance of the meeting.
Check the size of print and the quality of pictures.
Don’t use complex language or unnecessarily long words.
Schedule your meeting at a time when people are alert and awake.
Check access to all venues selected for meetings.