Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2006, Page 81

SAMLEIKAGERÐ í NÝTSLUMENTANINl HJÁ BØRNUM
79
tures of consumption such as teachers and
parents/guardians were interviewed. These
adults represent important informants be-
cause of their knowledge of the children
being studied.
The study was carried out in central Scot-
land in two small towns where children were
relatively restricted in their access to large
retail outlets. Sunny Nursery5 (hereafterSN)
is a privately owned nursery with children
from mixed backgrounds (government
vouchers6 were accepted by the nursery).
Northern Primary School7 (hereafter NPS)
with its 320 pupils, is located in a relatively
deprived area in a small town. Waterside Pri-
maiy school (hereafter WPS) has 220 pupils
and is situated in a slightly smaller, but much
rnore affluent village. However, both
schools have a comparable distance to the
large city. When comparing census data and
the “Carstairs Deprivation Categories”
(McLoone, 2000) with fieldwork data it was
clear that the two areas represent children
with relatively different socioeconomic
backgrounds. The nursery on the other hand,
represented children from mixed socioeco-
nomic backgrounds - although it skewed
slightly towards affluence.
Power issues in research with children
There are profound implications of the
adult-child power barriers for the construc-
tion of researcher role in the field and these
have been extensively debated in the child-
hood studies literature (e.g. Corsaro and
Rizzo, 1988; Fine and Sandstrom, 1988;
Graue and Walsh, 1998; James et. ai, 2001;
Thorne, 1993). To understand the world
through children’s eyes requires adults to
substantially reduce the asymmetrical power
relationship - something which can only be
achieved through careful consideration of
the role the researcher adopts whilst in the
field.
Adultist, supervisory and teacher-like
roles, which have so often been adopted in
research with children in the past, do little
to reduce the social distance between adults
and children. Furthermore, such roles are in-
compatible with the philosophy of child-
hood studies (Fine and Sandstrom, 1988).
Rather a friend role was adopted where the
researcher entered the setting and distanced
herself froin the authoritarian status which
adults have vis-á-vis children - to the ex-
tent that it is possible for an adult. Thus the
researcher did everything the children did,
from sitting with them at their desks to eat-
ing lunch with them. Over time the chil-
dren’s trust was gained and consequently;
they spoke openly and frankly with the re-
searcher, providing important insights into
their worlds.
Whilst conducting fieldwork the most
valuable moments of insight into children’s
cultures of consumption were those away
from the interference of adults. Therefore,
time spent e.g. in the playground during
break, eating lunch with the children and
going on fieldtrips proved to be excellent
opportunities for gathering data. To witness
these accounts and have a valid presence
during these moments the researcher played
with the children, spoke with them and tried
to be their friend.
Methods
The main methods used throughout the year-