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Cross-cultural collaboration in educational research is more than a methodological choice, it is a key pathway to understanding the diverse cultural meanings that shape early childhood. Cross-cultural dialogue not only broadens the scope of inquiry but also deepens researchers’ understanding of children and childhood (Kehily, 2013), which is experienced and interpreted differently across cultural contexts. This blog post discusses an ongoing research project exploring cross cultural perspectives on children’s agency and participative practice within education.

Utilising Welsh Government Taith funding and funding from Swansea University (ISPF), a group of researchers from Swansea University (Wales) and the National University of Education (UNAE, Ecuador) undertook reciprocal university visits to establish cross-cultural research networks. In May 2024, the team from Swansea University visited UNAE, with the team from UNAE undertaking a reciprocal visit to Swansea University in March 2025. The short-term aim of the exchange was to share knowledge and expertise on children’s participation in education, culture and society and deepen participants’ understanding of children’s agency and participative practice within different cultural contexts. The longer-term aim is to promote inclusive practice and empower children in those contexts by widening the impact of existing local and international networks working on children’s participation, including:

• the (CREYN, Wales)
• the
• the (CENPRAC, Swansea University)
• the (EduSUR, Ecuador).

Within the reciprocal visits, different activities facilitated these aims. These included shared reading, working-group meetings, presentations to research groups and university students, school visits and writing workshops. Each activity deepened the collaborative understanding of the group, albeit in different ways. The presentations, for example, provided a deeper insight into the group’s expertise and research and provided themes for discussion. Through the school visits, enabling factors of participatory practice were identified, such as the passion and expertise of staff, which enhanced children’s participation and agency across cultures and within challenging contexts (such as with children with profound and severe learning difficulties). Crucially, the group meetings provoked deep discussion on differing cultural conceptions of agency and participative practice with the following four recurring themes emerging.

1. Cross-cultural complexities in perceptions of childhood and children’s role in society

In some cultures, for example, children are seen as active contributors to family and community life, while in others, they are viewed as dependents needing guidance and protection. These perceptions shape how societies structure education, care and participation.

2. The impact of differing social structures on ‘agency’

For a child, choice and independence are often mediated by cultural norms, family hierarchies, institutional rules and social structures. Understanding these differences is essential to explore ‘agency’ in different cultural contexts.

3. Participatory research and children’s rights

Ethical involvement of children in research requires both parental consent and the child’s assent. Nonetheless, in practice, respecting children’s rights and their capacities for decision-making can be complex and dependent upon wider cultural norms.

4. Cross-cultural challenges and decolonising research methodology

A meaningful inclusion of children’s voices requires cultural relevance. Decolonising research methods involves challenging Western-Eurocentric assumptions while embracing different knowledge systems, which may redefine what counts as valid knowledge or ethical practice.

These recurring themes inspired the subsequent writing workshops and research.

‘Sharing physical spaces, new cultural experiences and informal conversations enhanced relationships and trust, enabling participants to openly explore the contextual and complex nature of agency and question the Eurocentric ideals which dominated the published research, but did not reflect everyone’s lived experiences.’

Post-visit, participant reflections highlighted the increased benefits of meeting face-to-face compared to online meetings (which had taken place for at least a year prior to the visits). Sharing physical spaces, new cultural experiences and informal conversations enhanced relationships and trust, enabling participants to openly explore the contextual and complex nature of agency and question the Eurocentric ideals which dominated the published research, but did not reflect everyone’s lived experiences. Furthermore, participants’ understanding of participative practice in education increased, as did their commitment to future collaborative research. Despite numerous challenges, such as workloads, time differences and language barriers (which can inhibit collaborative discussion of complex and nuanced concepts), all participants feel that the benefits of further collaboration outweigh these challenges.

The group’s next steps will be to further explore the themes raised above. Our first collaborative research project is to analyse the policy context within both countries, thereby enhancing our cross-cultural understanding of agency and participative practice within education. The preliminary results of this research will be presented as a conference paper, with a view to publication in the near future.   

References

Kehily, M. J. (2013). Understanding childhood: A cross disciplinary approach. Bristol University Press.