Understanding the Contribution of Visual Methods to Early Childhood Research: A Cross-Cultural Investigation

Abstract

Research in education has previously been dominated by what Law (2007) terms the “hygienic forms” (p. 33). Hygienic forms apply to positivistic quantitative traditions which claim supremacy over other forms of knowing. In this methodological paper we report on a phenomenon auto-driven visual elicitation approach of an on going research which attempts to make sense of how children (3-5 year olds) in cross-cultural settings understand risk and safety situations in their settings. We reflect on the concern for contextual reflexivity, emanating from the notion that research activity in early childhood education is “in danger of succumbing to political ideology and methodological fashion” (Prosser & Loxley, 2007, p. 1). We argue that research into early childhood education needs to acknowledge the implicit tensions between conventional empirical research and the politics of research methodology and that researchers cannot bring to the fore everything that is there to be known about child development and learning through orthodox mechanistic means. There are quotidian aspects of children's experiences, development and learning which can best be captured by visual methods that combine other approaches like interviews and observations. The paper concludes with some reflections on the ethical dilemmas and validity issues that confront the researcher when the visual and digital are used across cultures with children.