The reality of child participation in research - Experience from a capacity-building programme

The objective of this study was to examine the reality of implementing child participation in research in Ethiopia. Research methods such as observation, interviewing, focus group discussions, questionnaires, checklists, matrices and review of related literature were used with children, professional psychologists and participants of a capacity-building programme on child-centred, participatory research. Results indicate that the newly introduced research methods are found to be useful with children. Results of a matrix exercise indicate that these methods are participatory, innovative, fun, suitable for children and easy to manage. Constraints identified by the trainees included: finance, time and the way these methods raise expectations.