Download here: Child_led_data_collection_a_step_by_step_guide.pdf

From the Introduction:

This manual has been developed to support young people as well as organizations to better understand ‘Child Led Data Collection’ (or CLDC for short). We want to help you understand the important role young people have in collecting information about their lives and telling others about their realities.

Our goal is to take something – collecting and working with research data - that seems complex and simplify it. With this manual we hope to make working with data easy for everyone, including young people. And, most importantly, we want to make it fun and interesting.

The information you will find within this manual was developed between 2009 and 2012 as part of the project, ‘A Civil Society for Children’s Rights in the MENA Region’ led by Save the Children Sweden and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Many partners supported the project, including: Bayti (Morocco), Nabaa (Lebanon), Democracy School (Yemen) together with Soul (Yemen) and Defence for Children International Palestine Section (occupied Palestinian territories).

Different groups of young people tested and piloted the manual and shared with us their experiences and ideas for improvement. Through the community of people involved, we were able to make the needed changes and share with you a resource that we hope you will find unique and useful.

We understand that not all research and advocacy projects have the impact they hope to have and that many do not change lives. But we are trying to change that and offer something different. Young people participating in data collection will learn new skills, meet new people and learn more about what is needed to create positive change. This experience can change the way you see your world, it can change the choices you make and it can create opportunities for you in the future.

By working together with other young people, you can build new relationships, grow as researchers and become advocates for positive change. This is also a special opportunity for adults to support young people in the process of collecting and working with data and for young people to share your unique skills, perspectives and insight; and for us all to support the young to speak for the young.

Should you choose to participate in CLDC, whether as a young researcher or as a support organization or a sponsor, we hope that you enjoy witnessing the power of evidence-based advocacy led by young people themselves.

It is an exciting time to be engaged in youth-focused evaluation!  Our week to highlight some of this work as part of AEA365 is coming up in December, the week of the 8th.  We would like to invite members of the TIG to submit blogs for this week.  Submissions will be reviewed and selected by members of the YFE TIG Leadership team.

Of particular interest are pieces related to the following themes:

 

1. New and creative ways of involving youth in evaluation, especially youth-led evaluation, including lots of tips.
2. Development and use of methods beyond surveys; don’t forget to share those great resources!
3. New perspectives and voices in youth evaluation, possibly from newer members, students or professionals. For example, we would love to hear from youth themselves, sharing their experiences with evaluation or leading it.
4. Lesson learned from doing youth-focused evaluation.

 

Submissions should be submitted to Nick Petten (nick@pettenconsulting.com) by November 16^th, 2019 and must adhere to the following guidelines:

 

• Post is written in the first person
• Post is fewer than 450 words total, not including the title
• Post is focused on topics of interest to evaluators
• Post introduces the author(s) by name at the beginning
• Post includes weblinks to items referenced in the text
• Post avoids self-promotion
• Post avoids jargon, spell out acronyms and abbreviations
• Post includes aea365 subheads in bold (*AEA subheaders are: Hot Tips, Cool Tricks, Rad Resources, Lessons Learned, and Get Involved – these should be the only subheaders used, but each may include further description, such as “Hot Tip – Use clear subheads: …”)
• It does NOT use APA style, instead has narrative references
• Post includes a description of each resource  (not just a link, but at least a descriptive title)

For more information about the AEA365, please check-out: http://aea365.org/blog/contribution-guidelines/

 

Youth Focused Evaluation Resources

Have a resource to share? Please contact Nick Petten (nick@pettenconsulting.com).

Special Spotlight:  Children & Youth Participation in Speaking Truth to Power

 

• Ethical Research Involving Children (ERIC) Website
• Ethical Standards for Research from the NAEYC
• Ethical dilemmas and risks in collecting data on violence against children. Findings from the work of the CP MERG technical working group on violence against children
• YouthPower from USAID
• International Society for Child Indicators
• AEA365 Blog post onChildren’s Assent to Participate in Research
• Evaluation Capacity Network for early childhood development
• Early Childhood Rights Indicators
• Save the Children Resource Library
• A book with examples of methods and tools to engage children and young people in research
• The Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development
• Child Trends
• The Childwatch International Research Network
• Kids Rights
• Rutgers University Childhood Studies listserve
• Children’s Rights International Network - list of publications
• International Institute for Child Rights and Development
• Government of Canada’s Panel on Research Ethics
• The Early Childhood Data Collaborative
• The Consultative Group On Early Childhood Care And Development
• Better Beginnings, Better Futures
• Better Evaluation’s ‘Week 6: Evaluation with and by, rather than for or of, children'
• Better Evaluation’s 'Listening to smaller voices: using an innovative participatory tool for children affected by HIV and AIDS to assess a life skills programme'
• UNICEF Data
• Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health
• Children’s Worlds

Special Spotlight: Trauma-Informed Youth Work

Participants on the YouthPower email listserv had an engaging conversation about how children in conflict-affected areas deal with recurring stress due to ongoing violence and require sustainable support. As practitioners supporting positive youth development, here are some resources to get you started.

• PDF Resources: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4ydhmtslfqfyfmk/AACOfBiyyMa4Ny6jEXccffzIa?dl=0 
• http://www.who.int/hac/network/interagency/news/mental_health_guidelines/en/
• http://www.crs.org/our-work-overseas/research-publications/singing-lions
• http://www.acesconnection.com/blog/how-to-be-trauma-informed-for-real
• http://weshare.unicef.org/archive/-2AMZIFLG2DVH.html
• https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/wp-content/uploads/FWV_blueprint_7-Youth.pdf
• https://evalsdgs.org/
• http://capacitar.org/
  

 
Other Resources

• HFRP Publications on Older Youth Related to Social Justice in Youth-Serving Organizations
• BetterEvaluation.org's Children and Evaluation
• YouthRex
• Youth Power 
• YouthPower Communities of Practice
• Positive Youth Development Framework
• UMN Extension Youth Development
• National Children's Bureau's Report on Involving Children and Young People in Policy, Practice and Research
• YouthPolicy.org
• Ethical Research Involving Children (ERIC) Website
• Ethical Standards for Research from the NAEYC
• Gerrard Resource Centre at Ryerson University
• The Sociology of Childhood in relation to Children’s Rights [PDF]
• Addressing Adultism & Being an Ally in Youth-Focused Evaluations from AEA365