Child participation in research: Children as research advisors

In research, child participation usually refers to positioning children not simply as objects or subjects but as social actors and more recently as participants and co-researchers. This short piece of writing is a reflection on the methodology adopted in two research projects with separated children, one with Rwandan fostered children and the other with Bangladeshi children in institutions and communities. Working under the assumptions that children know best, we invited a group of children to participate in our research as research advisors, to counsel on the planning and implement of the projects