Researcher’s Positionality and Emotional Labour – Ethical Navigation of Power Dynamics in Research with Minority Children from Malay Muslim Blended Families

Giving voice to children is a concrete endorsement and expression of acknowledging them as competent social actors, who participate actively in the construction of their own childhoods, thus have the right to express their opinions on matters that affect them. Inherent in this paradigm are ethical and methodological challenges of what constitute responsible data collection, analysis and interpretation where the rights and well-being of children have precedence.

Drawing from our qualitative case study involving seven children between 11and 15-year-old from Malay blended families, this presentation focuses on the ethics of power relations between the adult-researcher and child-participant. A critical perspective on researcher positionality is adopted for the careful handling of the navigation of power asymmetry. Positionality influences all research phases from formulation of research question, designing of data collection methods to addressing the challenges in implementation. A less discussed aspect of the adult researcher positionality in the field interactions with child-participants is the emotional work required to handle sensitive issues with child participants. The presentation unpacks key positional aspects and the mitigation of power imbalance. One essential practice is the active use of reframing during interviews and allowing child participants to assert subtle forms of power.

In this study, power relations are further complicated by ethnic and cultural differences. The lead author, a member of the majority Chinese ethnic group interviews with Malay children, a minority in the society. Ethical approval from an Institutional Ethics Review Board does not necessarily guarantee adequate sensitivity to these nuances. Without explicit attention to ethnicity, culture and age dynamics, there is a risk of rendering children invisible.

The presentation highlights the importance of addressing these ethical complexities before, during and after data-collection.