Using Retrospective Interview Techniques to Study Children’s Efficacious Agency in Formal and Informal Contexts

• In Event: Innovative Methods for Studying Children’s Self-Efficacy, Self-Regulation, and Self-Determination In and Out of School Settings

Abstract

Purpose: Our paper focuses on methods used to study children’s efficacious agency. Specifically, we show how efficacy and agency are revealed through stimulated recall techniques.

Perspectives: Efficacious agency consists of “self-efficacy beliefs” (Zimmerman, 1995) and “resilience” (Steward & McWhirter, 2007) and refers to children’s belief that they are free to act according to their wishes and they are likely to be successful in those actions. Positive events in children’s lives, child-centered interventions, and academic success at school have been shown to help children to compensate for potential risk factors (Rutter & Rutter, 1993).All children need support mechanisms to strengthen their potential to become agentic with capabilities for learning and a sense of efficacy to transform their life activity, not just children with known vulnerabilities (e.g., low SES or disabling conditions).

Child-perspective refers to children’s participation in research processes. Previous studies involved children in the roles of partner and participant, roles which are considered to have rights, rather than being just the recipients of adults’ inquiry (Brady, 2007; Dockett & Perry, 2005, 2007; Pole et al., 1999). Children can also be designers (Lim, 2008) and action researchers (Cox & Robinson-Pant, 2008). In this study, children were involved as co-researchers, who interpreted video data to reveal forms of efficacy and agency. In next stage children will also gather the actual data.

Methods: The MASCS (Multisource Assessment of Children´s Social Competence) (Junttila, et al., 2005) was used to identify twelve high and twelve low socially competent case-children and to observe possible differences between the two groups. For example do the socially competent children have more opportunities to participate in activities in which they can have a sense of efficacious agency? The children were videotaped in formal and informal learning contexts. Critical “efficacious agency” situations were chosen and used to stimulate children’s recall about what kind of agency was expressed in the situation and whether they had a sense of efficacy. Our goal was to elicit children’s interpretation of self-efficacy, agency and emotion regulation.

Results: The stimulated recall techniques suggest children didn’t always recognize efficacious agency situations chosen by researchers, but children formed their efficacious agency from the four sources hypothesized by Bandura (1997). Children were able to recognize feelings but had difficulties labeling them and recognizing how their emotions affected their efficacious agency. Child-centered methods, such as use of “feeling cards” and “emotion clouds” helped children identify and label their emotions, and enhanced children's reflections of their feelings. These kinds of child-centered methods are important when researching children’s views. They give children tools to express thoughts and feelings about complex issues, such as efficacious agency.

Significance: A focus on the participation and agency is challenging to achieve (e.g., Cree et al., 2002). In addition, methods for research involving the participation of children are relatively undeveloped (Morgan et al., 2002). This study brings a new concept, efficacious agency, for child studies, and dissects it particularly from children’s perspective, by using videos and retrospective interview techniques.

Authors

• Pirkko Tellervo Hyvonen, University of Oulu

• Eeva-Liisa Kronqvist, University of Oulu

• Sanna Järvelä

• Elina Maatta, University of Oulu

• Arttu Mykkänen, University Of Oulu