Decolonising Methodologies with Children: Protocol and Ethics Dilemmas in African-Centered Child-Centric and Child-Rights Research

This paper offers a framework for addressing ethical dilemmas encountered in research with Indigenous children in African cultural settings. It provides contextual, culturally- and developmentally appropriate research methods that inform relevant study findings that can better guide a deeper, better-informed, and responsive mental health praxis through decolonising research practice are needed. The framework is derived from my doctoral project, How Children Make Meaning of sexual violence: Towards decolonising African-centred child-centric psychological interventions. The research process upheld the highest ethical standards and demonstrated that decolonising research can present competing ethical protocol dilemmas between [Western] institutional ethics boards, African ethics, and child rights. The framework I offer informs ethical fieldwork in collecting data that centres children's voices, is child-led, culturally situated, and a true reflection of the ontological and social realities children experience. I demonstrate the application of decolonial theory as a methodological, ethical consideration that calls for the self-representation of children living in marginalised communities. I further address questions of ethics, inclusivity, and practical challenges of conducting cross-cultural research.