The Precarious Worlds of Children A methodological approach to the experience of poverty from the point of view of children Elena Bütow and Sarah Korenke

The Precarious Worlds of Children Overview 1.Introduction 2.Child poverty – national and international findings 3.Child poverty from the perspective of children: a qualitative study 1.Aims of the research project (2009 to 2012) 2.The Research Field 4.Research Design / Methodology 1.Participant Observation 2.Photo documentation and interviews 3.Group Discussions 5.Conclusion Elena Bütow and Sarah Korenke

The Precarious Worlds of Children 2. Child poverty – national and international findings At present, one in six children (under the age of 15) live in poverty in Germany Child poverty cannot therefore be reduced to a single cause but is a complex matter for which there are manifold causes Research must move beyond the material level It must explore what constraints and restrictions children experience in their everyday lives in addition to their poverty and what experiences they talk about Elena Bütow and Sarah Korenke

The Precarious Worlds of Children 3. Child poverty from the perspective of children: a qualitative study 3.1 Aims of the research project (2009 to 2012) Analysis of precarious childhood in Germany from the view of the disadvantaged children themselves To link different qualitative methods with an approach that is sensitive to social inequality Elena Bütow and Sarah Korenke

The Precarious Worlds of Children 3.2 The Research Field Childcare centre in a precarious district of Hamburg The children involved in our research were in the age range of six to twelve 23% of all children in Hamburg are poor, the highest child poverty rate in Germany Elena Bütow and Sarah Korenke

The Precarious Worlds of Children 4. Research Design / Methodology 4.1 Participant Observation The major focus of our research was the question of the social reality of these children Looped process: constant interplay between the phases of collection and analysis The method offers a adequate approach to the research field and allows to make contact with the children and to create a situation of trust Elena Bütow and Sarah Korenke

The Precarious Worlds of Children 4.2 Photo documentation and individual interviews At the beginning the children had the chance to document their environment with disposable cameras During the interviews, the children made collages using the photos and other craft materials The collages were meant to take into account forms of expression suitable for children and create a friendly and relaxed atmosphere Elena Bütow and Sarah Korenke

The Precarious Worlds of Children Collages Elena Bütow and Sarah Korenke

The Precarious Worlds of Children 4.3 Group Discussions The group discussions were recorded on video and the detailed transcript is the basis for the later analysis The aim of the group discussions was an exchange by the socially disadvantaged children of their joint biographical experiences and certain aspects of their life world If certain methodical conditions are met, group discussions can be a useful tool in childhood research Elena Bütow and Sarah Korenke

The Precarious Worlds of Children 5. Conclusion The three methods are closely connected to the children’s themes and build on one another. The promise of this procedure is to get as closely as possible to the children’s own experiences Our view of poverty and the social disadvantage of children can be reconstructed very closely to that of the children themselves For research into childhood and poverty, this approach brings a considerable gain in knowledge Elena Bütow and Sarah Korenke

The Precarious Worlds of Children Elena Bütow & Sarah Korenke Goethe University of Frankfurt DFG-Research Project: „Precarious Childhood – How Children Experience Poverty“