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The key challenge

Dirk Schubotz Involving young people as peer researchers in research on community relations in Northern Ireland. The key challenge. ‘All too often the opinions of young people are ignored when decisions are made about many issues involving them.‘ (YLT)

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The key challenge

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  1. Dirk SchubotzInvolving young people as peer researchers in research on community relations in Northern Ireland

  2. The key challenge ‘All too often the opinions of young people are ignored when decisions are made about many issues involving them.‘ (YLT) Our ambition is to produce social research that is: • Academically sound; • Relevant to young people; • Informative to social policy makers, but also • Critical towards social policy.

  3. Framework Research • onchildren and young people • with children and young people • empowering children and young people (Borland et al. 2001) • UNCRC: Articles 12 and 13 • NI Children’s Order (1995) • NI ten year strategy for children and young people (2006)

  4. About YLT 1998-2000 • YLT run alongside NILT • All 12-17-year olds living in the same household as adult researchers 2001/02 • Review of methodological approach Since 2003 • Annual stand-alone survey of 16-year olds

  5. About YLT • Every 16-year old born in February of the survey year who receives Child Benefit (ca. 2,000 eligible young people each year) • Postal questionnaire (also online and phone completion possible) • Initially large-scale survey design with no participatory element or significant qualitative question

  6. Community relations and cross-community contact - asked since 2003 Education - asked since 2003 Identity – asked since 2003 Family - asked since 2006 Health - asked since 2004 Environment and global issues - asked in 2006 Child poverty and rights of child – asked in 2007 Politics - asked in 2004 and 2007 Pressures and influences - asked in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008 Self-harm and emotional health – asked in 2008 Attitudes to minority ethnic groups – asked in 2008 Background and social capital - asked since 2003 About YLT

  7. Means of participation in YLT • Participatory elements in the survey design • Giving active feedback on survey results • Qualitative follow-up projects involving young people • Involving peer researchers in projects • Competitions (e.g. essay, photo)

  8. ‘Participatory’ survey? • Ask open questions • Ask respondents to suggest questions for next year’s survey • Alternate question format and style to reflect societal changes Challenge: Time series survey questions ‘don’t like’ to be changed…

  9. ‘Participatory’ survey? ‘Is there anything else you would like to say about community relations in Northern Ireland?’ • 1,500 open responses since 2003 ‘What questions do you think we should be asking respondents in next year’s survey?’ • Each year we incorporate up to five suggestions in the new survey

  10. ‘I think Young Life and Times is a very good opportunity for young people to get their views taken into perspective.’ (YLT respondent, 2003)

  11. Follow-up projects so far • ‘Voices behind the Statistics’ (with NCB) (2003/4) • ‘Being Part and Parcel of the School’ (with NCB, commissioned by NICCY) (2005/6) • ‘Cross-community schemes: participation, motivation mandate.’ (Peace II) (2007/8) • ‘Attitudes to Difference’ (with NCB) (2008/9) • Self-injury and emotional health (Nuffield Foundation) (2008/9)

  12. Levels of participation • Being informed(Recipient) • Young people being informed about research being carried out • Expressing a view(Participant) • Young people as research participants/respondents • Influencing decision-making(Peer Researcher, or having an advisory role) • Young people with some say in research process • Deciding partners(Colleague Researcher) • Young people making joint decisions with adult researchers • Main deciders (Leader) • Young people with authority to make final decisions (Kirby 1999)

  13. Cross-community schemes • Background: • 93% of pupils in NI attend single-religion schools • Two thirds of people in NI live in religiously segregated areas • Participation in cross-community projects is positively related to more favourable views towards others

  14. Cross-community schemes

  15. Cross-community schemes Questions: • What is the motivation of young people to take part in projects outside the school context? • What are their experiencesof participation • What is the mandate of youth workers to run these projects

  16. Cross-community schemes Research design • One module in 2007 YLT survey • 8 peer researchers recruited through YLT survey • One research methods training day • Field work in teams of 2(+1) in 4 cross-community projects • Data analysis day • Presentation/dissemination of findings

  17. ‘It has also been a pleasure working with you, being a peer researcher with YLT/ARK has opened many doors for me, I am now a lot more confident, and have made many new friends, and also being able to attend the Save the Children event and getting my face on the big screen and appear at the Mitchell Conference was great. Thank you very much for all your hard work with us. Thanks very much again, I will keep in touch.’Cross-community schemes project, 2007/08

  18. Attitudes to difference Background • Increased inward migration to N Ireland • Over-exaggeration of proportion of people from minority ethnic communities in NI • Little research about inter-ethnic relations • Belfast the ‘hate crime capital of Europe’??

  19. Attitudes to Difference Research design • One module in 2008 YLT survey • Follow-up in 8 schools • All-school survey; • Interactive Talkshops with Year 5/6 students; • Interviews with people from minority ethnic groups. • 10 (+2) peer researchers recruited from participating schools (two training days) • Data analysis day • Presentation/dissemination of findings

  20. Background data Among the figures below, which come closest to the proportion of people from minority ethnic background living in NI?

  21. ‘I had fun working with everyone in the group. YR training – very helpful and helps me understand how important it is to interact and respect other people’s ideas and opinions.’ ‘I think that the two-day training was excellent, but also that the project as a whole is an amazing opportunity towards an excellent cause and I would love to be a part of it.’

  22. Benefits From the senior researchers’ perspective • Better Research • (rapport with young people, common language, access to hard-to reach groups, insightful) From the peer researchers’ perspective • Capacity building and personal development for peer researchers • (self esteem, biographical effects, new friends) • Involvement of young people as citizens

  23. Further Challenges • Providing appropriate research training; • Selection of researchers and research contract; • Different levels of ability among peer researchers; • Creating a research team spirit; • Keeping the momentum going;

  24. Further Challenges • Dealing with hierarchies in research (e.g. gender, seniority) • Keeping young people interested; • Preventing peer researchers from ‘going native’ (Do they listen or do they already ‘know’); • Assuring quality standard of research (confidentiality, ethical considerations); • Decision on research output and level of involvement of peer researchers in this.

  25. Sharing and promoting data All data made publicly available www.ark.ac.uk/ylt • Downloadable datasets and questionnaire; • Results tables (by gender and religion); • Open-ended responses (un-edited, summarised; • Teaching tutorials (ARK in Schools project); • Publications in different formats (summary leaflets, research seminars, PP presentations, press releases, Research Updates, ‘academic’ publications); • Edited book using YLT data (2008); • Dataset archived annually with UK Data Archive.

  26. Dirk SchubotzInvolving young people as peer researchers in research on community relations in Northern Ireland

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