Child-focused participatory action research: Seeking children's voices in speech-language pathology research
Tracks
4
Paediatric/Infant
Research
| Saturday, June 14, 2025 |
| 10:30 AM - 10:40 AM |
Overview
Holly McAlister and Dr Suzanne Hopf
Details
⏫ Research insights
⏲️ 10.30am - 10.50am
⌛ 20-minutes
📚 Assumed knowledge of attendees: Foundational (new/casual familiarity with the topic e.g. treated a single case)
⏲️ 10.30am - 10.50am
⌛ 20-minutes
📚 Assumed knowledge of attendees: Foundational (new/casual familiarity with the topic e.g. treated a single case)
Presenter
Miss Holly McAlister
NSW Health
Child-focused participatory action research: Seeking children's voices in speech-language pathology research
10:30 AM - 10:50 AMPresentation summary
Historically, children have been passive participants in research, with insight into children’s experiences seen through an adult lens via caregivers and educators. All children have capacity to share their thoughts and opinions to change their lives and communities. As communication specialists, speech-language pathologists are uniquely placed to support and advocate for the communication rights of all, and to support all to have the ability to share their voice regardless of their communicative capacity.
Several frameworks have been developed to support children’s genuine participation as researchers, under the umbrella of child-focused participatory action research (PAR), such as Shier’s models for participation, Lundy’s framework of space, voice, audience and influence, and the Mosaic approach developed by Clark and Moss.
A rapid review of speech-language pathology research was conducted, seeking any relevant research which had cited these child-focused PAR frameworks. A backward citation search was then conducted for those articles to gain a more detailed picture of the use of child-focused PAR within speech-language pathology research.
Elements of child-focused PAR have been included in speech-language pathology research since the early 1970s, but intentional use of the noted frameworks has been limited in comparison to other research fields (e.g., education). Researchers in Australia and the United Kingdom have been prolific in their utilisation of these child-focused PAR frameworks compared to researchers in other countries.
The utilisation of child-focused PAR within speech-language pathology research has increased over recent years to support children to share their insights and inform speech-language pathology practice internationally. Further use of these frameworks and support for children to become co-researchers within speech-language pathology is recommended to support children to share their voices.
Several frameworks have been developed to support children’s genuine participation as researchers, under the umbrella of child-focused participatory action research (PAR), such as Shier’s models for participation, Lundy’s framework of space, voice, audience and influence, and the Mosaic approach developed by Clark and Moss.
A rapid review of speech-language pathology research was conducted, seeking any relevant research which had cited these child-focused PAR frameworks. A backward citation search was then conducted for those articles to gain a more detailed picture of the use of child-focused PAR within speech-language pathology research.
Elements of child-focused PAR have been included in speech-language pathology research since the early 1970s, but intentional use of the noted frameworks has been limited in comparison to other research fields (e.g., education). Researchers in Australia and the United Kingdom have been prolific in their utilisation of these child-focused PAR frameworks compared to researchers in other countries.
The utilisation of child-focused PAR within speech-language pathology research has increased over recent years to support children to share their insights and inform speech-language pathology practice internationally. Further use of these frameworks and support for children to become co-researchers within speech-language pathology is recommended to support children to share their voices.
Refrences
Clark, A., & Moss, P. (2001). Listening to young children: The Mosaic approach. National Children’s Bureau and Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Grace, R., Knight, J., Baird, K., Ng, J., Shier, H., Wise, S., Fattore, T., McClean, T., Bonser, G., Judd-Lam, S., & Kemp, L. (2019). Where are the silences? A scoping review of child participatory research literature in the context of the Australian service system. Children Australia, 44(4), 172–186. https://doi.org/10.1017/cha.2019.32
Lundy, L. (2007). 'Voice' is not enough: conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. British Educational Research Journal, 33(6), 927-942. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920701657033
Lyons, R., Carroll, C., Gallagher, A., Merrick, R., & Tancredi, H. (2022). Understanding the perspectives of children and young people with speech, language and communication needs: How qualitative research can inform practice. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 24(5), 547–557. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2022.2038669
McCormack, J., McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., & Holliday, E. L. (2022). Drawing Talking: Listening to children with speech sound disorders. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 53(3), 713–731. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_LSHSS-21-00140
McLeod, S. (2018). Communication rights: Fundamental human rights for all. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(1), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2018.1428687
Shier, H. (2001). Pathways to participation: Openings, opportunities and obligations. Children and Society, 15(2), 107–117. https://doi.org/10.1002/chi.617
Shier, H. (2010). ‘Pathways to participation’ revisited: Learning from Nicaragua’s child coffee workers. In B. Percy-Smith & N. Thomas (Eds.), A handbook of children and young people’s participation: Perspectives from theory and practice (pp. 215–229). Routledge.
Shier, H. (2019). An analytical tool to help researchers develop partnerships with children and adolescents. In I. Berson, M. Berson, & C. Gray (Eds.), Participatory methodologies to elevate children’s voice and agency (pp. 295–315). Information Age Publishing.
Grace, R., Knight, J., Baird, K., Ng, J., Shier, H., Wise, S., Fattore, T., McClean, T., Bonser, G., Judd-Lam, S., & Kemp, L. (2019). Where are the silences? A scoping review of child participatory research literature in the context of the Australian service system. Children Australia, 44(4), 172–186. https://doi.org/10.1017/cha.2019.32
Lundy, L. (2007). 'Voice' is not enough: conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. British Educational Research Journal, 33(6), 927-942. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920701657033
Lyons, R., Carroll, C., Gallagher, A., Merrick, R., & Tancredi, H. (2022). Understanding the perspectives of children and young people with speech, language and communication needs: How qualitative research can inform practice. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 24(5), 547–557. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2022.2038669
McCormack, J., McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., & Holliday, E. L. (2022). Drawing Talking: Listening to children with speech sound disorders. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 53(3), 713–731. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_LSHSS-21-00140
McLeod, S. (2018). Communication rights: Fundamental human rights for all. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(1), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2018.1428687
Shier, H. (2001). Pathways to participation: Openings, opportunities and obligations. Children and Society, 15(2), 107–117. https://doi.org/10.1002/chi.617
Shier, H. (2010). ‘Pathways to participation’ revisited: Learning from Nicaragua’s child coffee workers. In B. Percy-Smith & N. Thomas (Eds.), A handbook of children and young people’s participation: Perspectives from theory and practice (pp. 215–229). Routledge.
Shier, H. (2019). An analytical tool to help researchers develop partnerships with children and adolescents. In I. Berson, M. Berson, & C. Gray (Eds.), Participatory methodologies to elevate children’s voice and agency (pp. 295–315). Information Age Publishing.
**********
Dr Suzanne Hopf
Charles Sturt University
Child-focused participatory action research: Seeking children's voices in speech-language pathology research
10:30 AM - 10:50 AM**********
Dr. Suzanne C. Hopf is Course Director (Speech Pathology) and Senior Lecturer at Charles Sturt University, Australia. An Australian-Fijian citizen based in Fiji, Suzanne’s publications and presentations describe how the contextually unique barriers and facilitators for supporting people with communication disability are created and reinforced by individual, community, and societal factors. Dr. Hopf’s Communication Capacity Research and Culturally Responsive Teamwork frameworks provide starting points for developing evidence-informed and culturally responsive communication specialist services in unserved areas of the world.
Professor Sharynne McLeod
Charles Sturt University
Child-focused participatory action research: Seeking children's voices in speech-language pathology research
10:30 AM - 10:50 AM**********
Sharynne McLeod, Ph.D. is a Distinguished Professor at Charles Sturt University, Australia specialising in children’s speech. Her transformative research has reframed the profession by foregrounding communication rights and social justice, and by enhancing equitable participation for multilingual children with speech, language and communication needs.
She has received Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, is a Life Member of Speech Pathology Australia, a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences of Australia, and President of the International Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics Association. She has been an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology.
The Australian Newspaper has named Professor McLeod as Australia’s Research Field Leader in Audiology, Speech and Language Pathology and “best in the world based on the quality, volume and impact of work”.
The information contained in this program is current at of the time of publishing but is subject to changes made without notice.
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