Participatory Research with Children and Young People

Susan Groundwater-Smith is Honorary Professor, Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney and Visiting Professor, Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research, University of Waikato. She has had an extensive career in teacher education, especially in relation to teachers-as-researchers, see Groundwater-Smith, S., Mitchell, J., Mockler, N., Ponte, P. & Ronnerman, K. (2013) Facilitating Practitioner Research. London: Routledge. She is the convener of the Coalition of Knowledge Building Schools, a Special Interest Group in the Faculty of Education and Social work. This group has functioned for over ten years and includes schools and cultural institutions. It has a continuing commitment to consulting children and young people and, where possible, including them as active researchers. This work has drawn the attention of researchers in Australia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Sue Dockett is Professor, Early Childhood Education, Charles Sturt University, Australia. Sue’s background is in early childhood and tertiary education. Over many years, Sue has engaged in research with children and young people, particularly in the years before school and the early years of school. Much of this research has focused on children’s experiences and expectations, as well as those of families, educators and communities at times of transition. She is co-author of Transition to school: Perceptions, expectations and experiences (with Bob Perry), co-editor of Transitions to school – International research, policy and practice (with Bob Perry and Anne Petriwskyj) and Varied perspectives on play and learning: Theory and research on early years education (with Bob Perry and Ole Fredrik Lillemyr).

Dorothy Bottrell is a Senior Lecturer in Social Pedagogy, in the College of Education, Victoria University Melbourne and Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney. Her background is in secondary teaching, juvenile justice, youth and community work and TAFE teaching in community services. She has extensive experience working with marginalised young people and has led or contributed to participatory projects with young people and community organisations, including murals, girls’ film-making, establishing a young parents’ group, community-based education for early school-leavers and community development forums with children, young people, Aboriginal families and an older women’s group. Her research has focused on the resilience of marginalised young people, including theoretical and qualitative empirical work that centres young people’s accounts of school, community and service systems. She is currently researching the interrelationship of resilience and responsibility, using political ecology and social justice frameworks; and is associate researcher with Kitty te Riele and Vicky Plows (Victoria Institute) on alternative education programs. Dorothy is co-author of A political ecology of youth and crime; and or co-editor of Schools, communities and social inclusion; and Communities and change.