Researching the experiences of children and young people from armed forces families

Abstract: Children from armed forces families are identified internationally as a group facing challenging situations, circumstances which can have a negative impact on their educational ex periences. The main focus in existing research has been on measuring children’s outcomes, but these studies generate little insight into how children themselves make sense of their experiences. depth qualitative studies, mostly con There are only a few inducted outside the UK, exploring the lived experiences of children from armed forces families. This study explores how children of armed forces personnel from schools across Scotland expressed their experiences. It aims to better understand approaches to t he provision of inclusive educational support. A suite of methods interviewing, drawing , and vignettes–– object elicitation, video diaries, peer was employed, to generate expressions from a total of 41 children and young people aged eight to 14 years, fr primary and two secondary Scottish schools. A postom three qualitative orientation supported the inquiry to look beyond children’s voices in isolation. An assemblage and field approach was taken to the analysis of the audio/video recordings, transcripts, artefacts, notes from the research encounters . The analysis showed how the different and shifting conditions of the research led to the creation of ongoing productive encounters. A key insight was that schools have much unrealised capacity to positively co ntribute to the experiences of these children. Methodological insights alongside empirical findings are used to generate signposts for the provision of improved educational support. The thesis argues that, ultimately, any improvement will involve entering into reciprocal, experimental, and sociomaterially mediated dialogues with children in ways that both align with children’s lived experience of armed forces life but also allow for the exploration of change and becomingdifferent as outcomes of those dia logues. es.