Ethical Reflexivity in Research with (Migrant) Children: Dealing with Power Asymmetries to Build up More Participatory Approaches
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Ethical Reflexivity and Power Relations in (Participatory) Research with (Migrant) Children
3. Research Project and Methods
4. Analysis: Ethical Dilemmas in the Field Research with (Migrant) Children
4.1. Addressing Parents by Using Multilingual Materials
Mohamed attends a residential care facility. Given his family situation, the caregiver advised that I seek consent from both parents, as obtaining consent from just one could lead to family conflicts. I sent the consent form in German to the father, but the caregiver suggested providing the mother with the Arabic version, as she speaks only basic German and Arabic is her first language. Both parents filled out the consent before the interview.(Protocol of Mohamed’s interview)
With each sentence of the consent form, she became increasingly suspicious. […] She also appeared worried. […] Afterwards, she said she hadn’t understood the project properly. She thought the interview was some sort of a student test and did not realise it was part of a larger project. […] She mentioned that she felt uncomfortable with the interview and chose not to give her consent for her son to participate. In the end, Tom did the interview alone, even if her son was willing to take part.(Protocol of Tom’s interview)
4.2. The Booklet as a Tool for Informing Children
Tim and Peter also asked me whether we would publish the whole interview, what we would do with it and what we would write about it. After I said the project was taking place in different countries, they also asked in which countries exactly the project would take place.(Protocol of Tim and Peter’s interview)
It seemed like the girl wanted to start the interview as soon as possible, as she kept saying “Yes, yes, I know it” impatiently when I briefly tried to show her the booklet.(Protocol of Lera’s interview)
When I gave him the paper to draw on, he immediately began drawing a PlayStation. He had seen the picture in the booklet and was now copying it.(Protocol of Amogus’s interview)
4.3. The Object as a Bridge Between the Child and the Researcher
When I arrived, Leo’s mother said he didn’t want to participate anymore. She told me, however, that Leo agreed with her that he would talk with me for five minutes and see if he likes it (she had already mentioned on the phone that he doesn’t always feel like doing things). As we started talking and discussing his object, Leo quickly became motivated and fully engaged.(Protocol of Leo’s interview)
- Interviewer:
- That’s my object. Do you want to know anything else?
- Andrea:
- In which football club do you play?
- Interviewer:
- FC Seedorf.
- Fiore:
- Do you think the coach is good?
- Interviewer:
- Yes, we have had a new one for a year now, and he is super good. Because we have been promoted with him, so he is a good coach.
- Andrea:
- Did you fly somewhere or something?
- Interviewer:
- Fly where?
- Andrea:
- To play football? Or something? For the matches against other countries?
- Interviewer:
- No. I don’t play that well ((laughing)), we only play like that against Walddorf or.
- Fiore:
- Ah, do you mean like in Switzerland?
- Andrea:
- So, clubs and stuff.
- Interviewer:
- Exactly, not the European Championship or something.
Aline: As an object... I always have my phone and my bracelet with me. I just don’t take it [the bracelet] off, it’s always with me, gives me memories. […] Now, everything was flashing before my eyes.
4.4. Peer-Interview Dynamics
- Carina:
- I think I never wanted to be a vet, I wanted to do something with animals, but it’s so difficult. (...) But I also have to operate and so on and somehow cut open animals and so on.
- Mia:
- I wouldn’t do that.
- Carina:
- Me neither.
- Alina:
- I always wanted to do that. I’ve always wanted to do that.
- Carina:
- But your godmother is um.
- Alina:
- She’s a veterinary assistant.
- Carina:
- But that’s not the same.
- Alina:
- It’s not the same, but I was allowed to go with her once when I was six. Since then
- Mia:
- I remember, you talked about it all afternoon, how excited you were.
- Interviewer:
- Really?
- Carina:
- And what about being an eye doctor, like your grandfather?
- Alina:
- No, never! Just never.
- Mia:
- You once had pictures of it in your status, I remember that. On the “Future Day”, when one could go with someone, I went with my mummy, and she went to her granddad.
- Alina:
- Yes, he operated on cataracts. So I could look at it, that wasn’t the problem. I can see blood.
- Mia:
- And she showed me pictures and I just huu thank you.
- Alina:
- No, it’s it’s not that I can’t see blood or something or that I couldn’t operate on it. But you should be precise to the millimetre, so if you’re kind of a millimetre off, then
- Carina:
- Oh no! Oh, I think
- Alina:
- Beautiful horse turned out [about the drawing] ((laughing)).
Sofia, the younger sibling, often turned to Julia for help when she was unsure, including when it came to her drawing. It seemed that her older sister provided support, but this dynamic also created some challenges. Julie was frequently the first to respond and often spoke for both of them. As a result, Sofia tended to hold back, and I usually had to address her directly. In general, she spoke much less.(Protocol of Julia and Sofia’s interview)
4.5. Choosing the Place of the Interview
- Interviewer:
- Why did you choose exactly this place [forest] for us to come here?
- Elena:
- It’s cosy here. Fresh air. Beautiful.
- Interviewer:
- Great. Very nice. Thank you for the location.
- Elena:
- I really like it here as well ((laughing)).
- Interviewer:
- Is there an airport nearby?
- Elena:
- Yes, we’re used to aeroplanes. But when the fireworks started, it was scary.
- Interviewer:
- And did you go to [Lemon City] then? Did you watch [the fireworks]?
- Elena:
- Yes. It was beautiful but also scary when they shot. In our homeland, we were under the bombs. That’s why it’s scary when one shoots.
- Interviewer:
- Tell me about this room. You told me you share it, right?
- Amogus:
- Yes, with my mother and my brother. My brother and my mother sleep there, and I sleep here. In the other room sleeps another [refugee] woman.
- Interviewer:
- You sleep here on the sofa, right?
- Amogus:
- Yes.
The kitchen was chosen as the interview location, though I’m not sure if it was the child’s or the mother’s decision. (…) I was simply told to conduct the interview there. The mother then went to work in an adjoining room but, from my perspective, she intentionally left the kitchen door wide open. Thus, I didn’t feel comfortable closing it. It’s possible that she overheard parts of the interview.(Protocol of Maxy’s interview)
- Karin:
- I don’t go to swimming lessons. Like this.
- Interviewer:
- Ahaa, just.
- Karin:
- I go free [to] swimming if I want to. (...) Right, yes.
- Grandmother:
- Talk in Zurich German, please.
- Karin:
- My goodness, doesn’t matter now, oh man.
- Interviewer:
- Do you prefer to speak classic German?
- Karin:
- Yes, it’s better for me, but...
I had the feeling that Mohamed would like to have his caregiver with him in the room. When I asked if he wanted his caregiver there, he confirmed that he did. The caregiver agreed, though he mentioned he might need to step out during the interview. The caregiver didn’t intervene much, only offering occasional comments, mostly adding brief remarks.(Protocol of Mohamed’s interview)
4.6. The Right to Withhold Answers
It made me feel very insecure when Karin told me she wanted to finish the interview to do something else. She said: “Two or three questions and I want to stop the interview.” I wasn’t ready with my questions yet, and I realised I would not be able to ask the things I would have liked to ask.(Protocol of Karin’s interview)
- Interviewer I:
- Max, what do you like the most in your family?
- Max:
- Well, my cat and the hamster.
- Danylo:
- And why are they important for you?
- Kera 7:
- ((Whispering)) He doesn’t have them.
- Danylo:
- Do you have that?
- Max:
- Yes, I have.
- Interviewer I:
- And did they stay behind, or did they come with you?
- Max:
- ((Whispering)) Left behind.
- Interviewer II:
- Do you miss them much?
- [Max starts crying]
- [Focus group paused here]
5. Discussion
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
1 | The sampling included children with diverse migration experiences, such as first-generation migrants, so-called “second-generation” migrants, refugee children, and children with experience of internal migration. In the analysis, we highlight when these aspects become relevant. |
2 | For critique reflexions on Hart’s model and the hierarchical view of children’s participation in research, please see Wyness (2012) [19], for example. |
3 | Transcribed according to the rules of Przyborski and Wohlrab-Sahr (2014) [33]. (...) = pause with dots indicating number of seconds; ((smiling)) = non-verbal comments; bold = said very loudly; underline = said loudly. |
4 | Through the silhouette form, we opted to include disabilities more broadly because one cannot see whether a child is blind, deaf, or has a cognitive or mental health condition. |
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Ramos, A.C.; Heite, C.; Riepl, A.; Weissberg, L.; Bingham, N.; Küng, Y.; Roggensinger, A.; Steiner, J. Ethical Reflexivity in Research with (Migrant) Children: Dealing with Power Asymmetries to Build up More Participatory Approaches. Societies 2025, 15, 171. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15070171
Ramos AC, Heite C, Riepl A, Weissberg L, Bingham N, Küng Y, Roggensinger A, Steiner J. Ethical Reflexivity in Research with (Migrant) Children: Dealing with Power Asymmetries to Build up More Participatory Approaches. Societies. 2025; 15(7):171. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15070171
Chicago/Turabian StyleRamos, Anne Carolina, Catrin Heite, Andrea Riepl, Luisa Weissberg, Nina Bingham, Yara Küng, Alexandra Roggensinger, and Julia Steiner. 2025. "Ethical Reflexivity in Research with (Migrant) Children: Dealing with Power Asymmetries to Build up More Participatory Approaches" Societies 15, no. 7: 171. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15070171
APA StyleRamos, A. C., Heite, C., Riepl, A., Weissberg, L., Bingham, N., Küng, Y., Roggensinger, A., & Steiner, J. (2025). Ethical Reflexivity in Research with (Migrant) Children: Dealing with Power Asymmetries to Build up More Participatory Approaches. Societies, 15(7), 171. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15070171