Children researching their urban environment: developing a methodology

This contribution discusses some of the methodological challenges faced when undertaking participatory research with children aged 10-12 years. It draws on the experience of research in schools in England (Staffordshire and South Gloucestershire) which focused on children’s local urban environment experience. A pilot research project was conducted in a school in Staffordshire (Barratt and Barratt Hacking 2008). This was the genesis of ‘Listening to children (L2C): environmental perspectives and the school curriculum’, a project undertaken by University of Bath researchers with children and teachers from a secondary school and one of its feeder primary schools in South Gloucestershire (see e.g. Barratt Hacking et al. 2007; Barratt Hacking, Scott, and Barratt 2007). In both projects the schools involved recognised the potential of listening to children’s local experiences and involving

t Bar att Hackinga and Robert Ba rattb

children in local environment research in order to take account of children’s concerns and so contribute to their wellbeing.