ABSTRACT
There is limited research on the role that parents/caregivers play in supporting children's voice and agency in research. Employing a child’s rights perspective, this chapter explores how parents/caregivers supported their children’s participation in research through a story-based approach to informed consent. An Informing Story based on the Narrative Approach was used with eleven 3- and 4-year-old children to obtain their consent to participate in the evaluation of an educative travelling science show. The purpose of the project was to investigate science learning occurring in community playgroups as a consequence of an early childhood science outreach program. Children were involved in the evaluation of the science activities. As part of this process, parents were interviewed on three occasions as they supported their child(ren)’s research participation. Seven roles were identified as to how parents supported their children’s participation in the research: gatekeeper, curator, advocate, protector, translator, curator, partner and observer. Each of these roles is described. The importance of the child, researcher and parent for a democratized research process is highlighted.
