The Ethics of Working with Children

1. The Ethics of Working with Children Prof. Margit Sutrop University of Tartu, Centre for Ethics Edinburgh, 28 February 2013

2. My background • Director of the Centre for Ethics and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities of Tartu University • Leader of the WP 10 in SiS-Catalyst project. • Ethics expert working for the European Commission, co-author of the “Note of Guidance for Researchers and Evaluators of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences”) • Member of the Committee who is preparing a new Strategy of Life-long Learning for Estonia • Head of National Programme for Values Education • Mother of 3 children, grandmother of 1 child

3. Aims of the WP 10 on ethics • Analysing the project/activities from the ethical point of view. • Developing Ethical Guidelines on children’s and students’ involvement in SiS activities.

4. Ethical aspects • Objectives – why? • Methodology – how? • Societal implications – with what effect? (to the children who participate in SiS activities, to all children, to students who are involved, to the society at large)

5. Objectives of the SiS-Catalyst project • To learn and share knowledge about the different models of enabling children to aspire and progress to higher education, specifically by their engagement with science. (The focus is on local minorities who are least likely to progress to higher education in a specific locality) • To consider how this practice can have an impact on policies at institutional, national and European levels.

6. Conceptual background of the project • Overcoming the “deficit model” of childhood: developments within childhood studies have led to increased recognition of children as competent, social actors. • The importance of listening to children’s voices and experiences, as well as of respecting their rights. • Growth of research with children, rather than research on children.

7. Regulatory background • UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 3): In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfareinstitutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the childshall be a primary consideration. • The Council of Europe’s Strategy for 2012-15 “Building a Europe for and with Children” Promoting child-friendly services, eliminating all forms of violence against children, guaranteeing the rights of children in vulnerable situations, promoting child participation.

8. Underlying ethical principles • Beneficence and non-maleficence, (avoidance of exploitation) the best interests of the child must be primary consideration • Respect of individual autonomy • Justice and avoidance of discrimination and stigmatization

9. Ethics of education • Our understanding of education is deeply ethical as it is based on our understanding of who we are and how we should live. • W. von Humboldt has said that education provides orientation. • Education helps the individual to build connection with the outside world. To get orientation we need: • knowledge about the world (biological, technological, cultural, and social world) • knowledge about oneself (what I am good at, what are my strengths and weaknesses, what I’d like to do, what do I want to achieve) and self-confidence.

10. Ethical analysis of the objectives • Objectives related to the interests of the society: • The economic argument (“Our society needs the talents and ideas of all our young people”) • The institutional argument (There are too many obstacles and barriers to inclusion, access to higher education) • Objectives related to the interests of the child: • Equal right to education (“ALL children should have the chance to be in touch with science”. • Right to develop one’s talents: “It is our responsibility to make children, whatever their background, aware of their educational opportunities and to support them to realise their potential.”

11. How?Ethical issues of methodology • Recruitment of participants (freedom, fair inclusion/exclusion criteria) • Consent and choice (consent of parents/legal guardians, assent of children) • Data collection (protection of privacy) • Avoid possible harm (psychological stress, stigmatization etc)

12. Ethical and social implications • We enter into the lives of children and begin to change their lives, incl their relationships with their families. This is a huge responsibility. • Well-being of child, not to cause stress (incl avoiding raising false expectations). Psychological support • How far do the obligations of the researchers go? What if the children will face conflicts in families? What if they will feel left alone after the end of the project?

13. Policy advice:What needs to be changed? • Change universities – promote widening participation • Change schools, i.e. methods of teaching and assessment of learning: instead of teaching children science promote children’s curiosity (encourage asking questions) and help them to find answers. • Change the attitudes of the society (get rid of presuppositions, help parents to support their children in choosing THEIR way of life) • Change our understanding of education (promoting economic growth versus individual happiness)

14. Thank you for your attention!