20 years of the Children's Research Centre

This year marks 20 years of the Children’s Research Centre (CRC), a pioneering centre that positions children as leaders of research. Launched by Professor Mary Kellett in 2004, the centre was created to put children at the front and centre of research, putting their participation beyond the roles of ‘objects’ or ‘subjects’ to ‘active researchers’.

To mark the occasion, the centre held a hybrid conference at the OU Campus in Milton Keynes at the end of October to bring together practitioners, academics and professionals to recognise where the centre had started, current successes, ongoing challenges and what lies ahead.

A warm and inviting conference

The day opened with introductory speeches from Dr Eric Addae-Kyeremeh, Head of School, Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport at Faculty of WELS, CRC Co-Director Dr Natalie Canning and Professor Carol Robinson of the University of Stratchclyde. The introductory speeches recognised the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the CRC, the exciting projects, the centre’s diversity of community and the changing role of children as researchers. The presenters acknowledged the chance for informative and inspirational discussions, sharing methods and ideas to encourage the empowerment of children and young people.

Conference delegates hailed from the UK and beyond to be a part of this landmark occasion. Both Dr Fadoua Govaerts of the University of Bath and PhD student Lucy Robinson of the University of Oxford who presented on the day described the conference as warm and inviting in an environment which fostered a strong sense of collaboration.

The conference ended with a keynote from Professor Nigel Patrick Thomas of the University of Central Lancashire. He congratulated the growth of the CRC and reflected on its beginnings. Remembering the launch of the centre, he recalled coming away “fizzing with excitement” after seeing young people on the podium taking the lead. He acknowledged the focus of child-led research from where the child is the subject to working with children to having children lead research.

Innovative research and support

The CRC is home to a long list of pioneering and innovative projects from the last the 20 years. Recent projects include:

• Families First, a two year study in collaboration with Worcestershire charity YSS Families First, examined support for families experiencing parental imprisonment.
• Coronavirus and my life, a collaboration with Children’s Heard to capture how children experienced the coronavirus lockdown.
• Representing Children’s rights, a collaboration with Amnesty International UK which informed the book, ‘Know Your Rights and Claim Them’.
• ‘Its so good to just be’ Pedagogical practice respecting children’s rights, a study looking into how children’s rights are understood by pedagogues and children.
• Additionally, the CRC has recently launched the CRC Practitioner’s Award. The awards give 3 students each year the opportunity to carry out research under mentorship from an experienced researcher.

Past CRC leaders were also present at the conference and were able to reflect on their experiences of working in the centre.

Professor Liz Chamberlain, CRC Director (2017-2020) said:

Part of the reason for joining the OU back in 2015 was to be part of the Children’s Research Centre.  Highlights over my last 9 years have been co-leading the Centre with Prof Victoria Cooper and then Dr Trevor Collins, increasing the membership base to over 35 colleagues, and leading on the Amnesty project and more recently the Free2Dream collaboration.  The conference was a wonderful celebration of the diverse range of work that connects us all, and which reminds us to put children and young people front and centre of research that directly impacts on their lives.

Professor Victoria Cooper Co-Director of the CRC (2017-2019) said:

I joined the CRC in 2009 because I have a passion for research ‘with’ children and young people. Having the opportunity to listen to and engage with children and young people from diverse and marginalised contexts has been a key highlight of my work with the CRC. The recent CRC conference was a wonderful space to explore innovative aspects of child-led and participatory research with children and young people. I look forward to strengthening our existing partnerships and exploring new ways to facilitate research with and by children and young people as the next steps for the CRC.

What’s next

Over the 20 years, the Centre has grown and developed further resources for practitioners. With the Centre for Children & Young People’s Health and Wellbeing, the project Our Voices provides support and guidance to those who want to undertake research with and by children and young people. The centre has also developed secondary education resources which can be found on OpenLearn Schools Hub.

Regarding the future, Dr Eric Addae-Kyeremeh said:

I hope to see the CRC expand its reach, especially into more diverse and underrepresented communities. Through existing and new partnerships, I hope CRC can continue to transform our understanding of children as researchers, not merely participants, making a lasting impact on research practices and societal perceptions.

Dr Natalie Canning who co-directs the CRC with Dr Trevor Collins said:

The CRC has been at the forefront of research with children, by children and for children for the past 20 years.  The conference on the 23rd October 2024 celebrated projects that put children at the centre of the research process, valuing their contribution, and what we, as adult researchers can learn from them. Researching children and young people is always interesting and surprising but at the CRC we embrace all of the twists and turns that working with children on research projects throws at us! We hope for another 20 years of engaging research to enrich the lives of children and young people through our partnerships, projects, research and teaching.