The YCAR project is based on an in-depth research study which was completed in 2012.
The YCAR study conceptualised ways that young children are researchers, could develop as researchers and may be considered researchers. It was designed in a way that the academy would value, and included participatory, democratic approaches.
The YCAR Study began from seven starting points:
- young children have limited opportunities to make decisions about what they want to learn, education has tended to focus increasingly on academic attainment;
- young children are excluded from the academy where knowledge is produced;
- when children are not included in research about matters affecting them they are denied children’s rights to say what they think and share their own ideas;
- yet young children are ‘sophisticated’ thinkers;
- it is highly unusual for children’s everyday activities to be recognised as research;
- even when children have been recognised as co-researchers in studies, focus is usually on training them to use the methods used by adult researchers in universities;
- adults often find it difficult to understand the non-verbal ways that young children often use to communicate their thinking.
During the YCAR study, academics, young children and their parents and teachers…
- Gathered examples of young children making sense of the world through exploration and other means during children’s everyday activity
- Revealed how these examples were congruent with adult researchers’ behaviours
- Established a warrant for recognising young children as researchers, especially in matters affecting them.
YCAR Research Publications
Findings from the Young Children Are Researchers project have appeared in many publications, including double-blind peer reviewed academic journal articles. The following articles by Jane Murray presents findings from her research:
Jane Murray / (2014) Researching Young Children’s Worlds. In T. Waller, and G. Davis (Eds.) (2014) An Introduction to Early Childhood. 3e. London: Sage. Pp. 325-345.
Jane Murray / (2015b) Young Children as Researchers in Play. In J. Moyles (Ed.) (2015) The Excellence of Play. 4e. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education. Pp. 106-124.