In this article I discuss my growing worry over the use (and nonuse) of photographs of young children in social research. Taking a view of child protection as paramount, I situate the discussion in the context of ethical governance of research, young children as research participants, changing views of childhoods, and the juxtaposition of the Arts with/in Arts-Based Educational Research. The article sets out a worry over the increasing tendency to pixilate-and hence distort-images of young children for inclusion in research reports or presentations. This (largely unchallenged) practice is slipping into research conventions whilst at the same time research governance and research involving children profilerate. The article argues that the pixilation of photographs of children, may represent a further "crisis of representation" and is an example of the "Othering" of young children in research.

This paper argues for, and demonstrates the effectiveness of, including young children in commenting on and improving their learning environments. It reports the experiences gathered from of 16 setting-based, small-scale, practitioner-led projects. Taking a view of citizenship as 'participation' the paper shows how practitioner-research can support the evolution of inclusive environments for all children. Following a critical review of the literature on citizenship, young children, and 'inclusion' the paper considers the usefulness of the participant methodology of practitioner action research and the concept of 'voice' in educational research and report. Examples of practitioner-research projects involving children aged three to six years identify and illustrate key themes from the data. Thus, they demonstrate: (1) the range of factors which excited or worried the children; and (2) the ways in which children's concerns and ideas were listened to and action for change was developed. The children's ideas and extracts from their comments are included alongside the practitioners' responses in the cases which are discussed. Four main points are considered in conclusion: (1) children's views can contribute to the development of inclusive practices; (2) children's voices are central to studies of their perspectives and the methodological challenges of listening to children's voices in research must be addressed; (3) identity and self esteem are key to the successful promotion of young children's positive sense of inclusivity and belonging in their early years settings; and (4) supported practitionerresearch can enhance inclusive early years practices. The paper argues that including children in the identification and exploration of issues important to them promotes a positive sense of inclusivity and that such approaches to developing pedagogies of citizenship and belonging constitute a practical enacting of 'voice'.

Relatively few studies of family literacy programmes have investigated parents’ views, despite their importance for the future development of this kind of programme in early childhood education. This article reports on a family literacy programme from the perspectives of the parents involved in it. The study was carried out in socio-economically disadvantaged communities in a northern English city. Parent experiences were investigated through interviews at the beginning and end of the programme ( N = 85) and home visit records. Interviews with a control group ( N = 73) of parents who had never participated in a family literacy programme were also conducted at the end of programme. Take-up and participation rates were extremely high for child-focused components of the programme, but the adult (parent-focused) education component had lower take-up. Parents expressed extremely positive views about the child-focused component of the programme and all felt it had benefited children. There was evidence, according to parent report, of programme impact on family literacy practices. Implications for family literacy programmes are discussed.

This article reports a study of family literacy practices from the perspectives of five-year-old children drawn from areas of social and economic deprivation in an English city. Methodological and ethical issues of interviewing young children are discussed. An interview survey (N = 71) found literacy activity reported in all homes; fathers involved in literacy with their children; and boys (as well as girls) involved in literacy activity. Findings were compared with those of a further randomly selected sample (N = 77) whose parents had participated in a family literacy programme. The comparison showed a modest, but consistent, increase in child-reported family literacy activity in the programme group, and concludes that the impact of a family literacy programme is discernible through children's perspectives. Implications for family literacy practices and the need for further research, including measures of children's literacy achievement and views of parents and the teachers participating in the programme, are identified.

Relatively few studies of family literacy programmes have investigated parents' experiences and whilst a number of such programmes have been specifically aimed at fathers, little is known about the involvement of fathers in programmes which target both mothers and fathers. This article reports fathers' involvement in a family literacy programme and their home literacy practices with their young children. The article provides a definition of family literacy and describes the context of the study, which was carried out in socio‐economically disadvantaged communities in a northern English city. Fathers' participation in their children's literacy was investigated through interviews at the beginning and end of the programme (n = 85) and home visit records made by teachers throughout the programme. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of these data indicate that, while fathers' participation in the family literacy programme was not easily visible, almost all fathers were involved to some extent in home literacy events with their children. During the programme, teachers shared information about literacy activities and the importance of children having opportunities to share literacy activities with their parents. Data indicate that fathers who were not mentioned by mothers as having been involved in their children's literacy were significantly more likely to be on a low income than those who were reported as being engaged with their children in home literacy activities. Fathers in the study were involved in providing literacy opportunities, showing recognition of their children's achievements, interacting with their children around literacy and being a model of a literacy user. Although involved in all four of these key roles, fathers tended to be less involved in providing literacy opportunities than mothers. While fathers and sons engaged in what might be described as traditionally ‘masculine’ literacy activities, fathers were more often reported to be involved with their children in less obviously gendered home literacy activities. The article concludes with discussion of implications for involving fathers in future family literacy programmes.