After completing my bachelor in Primary Education and one in Educational Studies I was looking for an opportunity to expand my knowledge. I was searching for a masters that would teach me about (the rights of) children worldwide.
This masters has a different approach to children and research with children that the approach used in my bachelor. Where my bachelor used developmental psychology as the main research field, often based on quantitative research that was analyzed through programs such as SPSS to say something about children. To my delight, this masters approached this very differently. Childhood Studies developed as a reaction/critique to developmental psychology. Instead of using data about children, the aim is to gain data from children; using children as main informants to say something about children. This is often done through qualitative, multi-method and childfrienly research. Their words, perceptions and experiences are used in the analyses.
In order to get a proper understanding of Childhood Studies and the methodological, ethical and preparational considerations that need to be made, the first year consists of different courses to prepare you for the thesis ahead. The subjects given in this first year are:
Social Studies of Children and Childhood
Methodological Perspectives on Child and Childhood Research
Children and Development in the Global South
Globalisation
Children’s Rights
Methods and Ethics in Childhood Studies
Experts in Teamwork
Preparatory Course, Master’s Thesis
Compared to my bachelor, the courses given during this masters allow for a lot of discussions. Due to everyone coming from a different background, there are many perspectives and opinions about the subjects, this makes for very interesting discussions. The Master course has limited class hours and puts a high emphasis on independent studying and reading.
Where my bachelor exams mainly existed out of studying, remembering and repeating, for my masters it was very different. Each subject provided us with a reading list of the most influential and significant articles regarding that topic. During our exam we were provided with a critical question, we had to answer this question in the form of an essay, using the articles provided. This form of examination not only allows for a deeper understanding of the given literature, it also tests our ability to critically think about the subject and to compare and discuss the existing literature.
The courses and examinations prepared me for the second year of the master program; the master thesis. We were not provided with a given topic, instead we were given the absolute freedom in choosing our subject, age group, destination and approach.
My topic of interest is vulnerable children and especially young children (between the age of 0-8). Based on the discussions during my bachelor and master, my interest in children’s homes had grown. A lot of research had proven that Children’s homes are harming for children’s development, attachment and emotional and social wellbeing. Yet, there had not been much research done that explored the experiences of children living in them. Therefore I decided my topic would be The perceptions and experiences of young children growing up in a children’s home in Cape Town, South-Africa.
The preparations were our own responsibility. I found a children’s home in Cape Town that was willing to open their doors to me. The children's home provided a home for children between 0-6 years of age, ideal for my research. During the summer I spend 2 months in Cape Town. At the Children’s Home I used my time observing the children and doing multi-method research with them. After I had collected my data, I went back to Norway to start the writing process and the analysis.
During the next 7 months I spend my days reading and writing, having meetings with my supervisor and revicing. After I handed in the final product in May, I still needed to defend it in front of two professors. It became an interesting discussion with many new perspectives added. I ended up graduating from the Masters with a B avarage.
If you are interested in my thesis, you can check the link below!
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