Children's perspectives and their Course of Living (2PS2103)

Objectifs: That the student can explain basic theoretical principles underlying cultural developmental theories and the importance of first person perspectives in life course studies. That the student can explain basic principles in methods aimed at investigating children's perspectives. That the student can conduct a small empirical study of a child's or children's perspectives on a given issue and demonstrate an elementary analysis of the data together with a critically reflection on his or her own methodological approach. Contenu: This course is based on the assumption, that children's meaning making of their lives and of their living conditions takes part in the shaping of their developmental trajectories and course of life. Although this is basic and old psychological knowledge, it is nevertheless often omitted in research investigations of children's behavior and performance. Through the course we move from theoretical positions to empirical investigations, and practical implication for research done with children. The participants of the course will conduct a small empirical investigation as part of the course. The experience of investigating children's perspectives through research practices are in the centre of a mini-conference, which terminates the course. The empirical work can be done in groups of 1 - 3 students. The course will be held in English. A syllabus of 300 pages + student chosen 200 pages (of relevance for the particular theme of study) will make up the total literature study.