Primary school children as co-researchers: Reaching those seen as ‘Hard to Reach’

This paper reports the findings of the first phase of a three-year study, funded by the European Union, that focuses on working with students as co-researchers for developing learning and teaching practices in schools. The study employs collaborative action research processes. Building on earlier research carried out with secondary schools, this new study involves primary schools in five European countries. The findings reported here are based in the work carried out in one of the primary schools in England. It is argued that collaborative action research approaches, which involve children as co-researchers, have the potential for reaching out to all children, especially those that might be seen as ‘hard to reach’