Practice research in practice learning: students as co-researchers and co-constructors of knowledge

Young children’s views on play provision in two local parks: A research project by early childhood studies students and staff

“…The authors, having gained permission to do so, provided undergraduate students on a BA (Honours) Early Childhood Studies degree with an opportunity to engage in primary research with young children in a local community to elicit their views. Collaborative research between staff and students is gaining popularity as it provides an opportunity to renegotiate power relationships and meanings between students and staff within the current climate of higher education (Bellinger et al, 2014; Jensen and Bennett, 2016). The project took place in the autumn of 2015, when the students were in the final year of their degree and all were studying an option module entitled Creative Opportunities and Possibilities; an assessed component of this module required them to evaluate an outdoor space for creative play potential.…”