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Combining Ecological Systems Theory and Child Rights to Improve Research and Evaluation

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International Handbook on Child Rights and School Psychology

Abstract

This chapter describes a conceptualization of research methods utilizing an ecological framework that can contribute to accounting for child rights within research inquiry. An argument is put forth that this framework can simultaneously enhance research validity evidence and account for child rights and ethics. A broad structure for thinking about research or evaluation processes that orients a focus on child rights within an ecological systems theory (EST) framework is presented. Although EST application calls researchers to account for context at various levels, the application of the theory and related methods is not itself context dependent. From a methodological point of view, explicitly accounting for child rights via an EST lens can be accommodated in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods work. The examples provided review application of these ideas to case studies, randomized controlled trials, policy research, program evaluation, and survey research. Although existing professional standards, ethics, and research practice already promote child rights, there is a clear argument for furthering work in this arena and doing so more intentionally, since this can bring greater clarity to research and evaluation questions and even enhance research validity.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    School psychologists are expected to be the primary audience for this chapter; however, the ideas presented here apply just as easily to most other school-based mental health practitioners, including social workers and special educators.

  2. 2.

    See Nastasi and Naser, chapter “Professional Development of School Psychologists as Child Rights Advocates,” this volume, for discussion of professional development of school psychologists for child rights advocacy.

  3. 3.

    To elaborate, different aspects of the articles should be expected to take on different salience across contexts and ecologies. As an example, none of the professional standards examined by Nastasi and Naser (2014) deal with Article 11: Kidnapping; the article language follows: “Governments should take steps to stop children being taken out of their own country illegally. This article is particularly concerned with abductions. The Convention’s Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography has a provision that concerns abduction for financial gain” (UNICEF, 2011b, Protection Rights, para 2). As heart wrenching as kidnappings are, in several countries governments have enacted strong protections, so it can be reasonable that specific mention of the crime is not specifically accounted for by professional standards. It is however possible for psychologists to work in an environment where kidnapping is a salient threat for a large number of children, and services may be routinely offered to children who have experienced this crime. Furthermore, part of understanding context is accounting for chronology and micro-contexts within a country, meaning that even if a government has enacted strong safeguards, any reader might one day find him or herself providing services where kidnapping is a prevalent concern. With that in mind, it is reasonable to consider if and how Article 11 might be immediately relevant to professional standards, including how one conducts research and evaluation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    John H. Hitchcock & Colleen E. Chesnut

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  1. John H. Hitchcock
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  2. Colleen E. Chesnut
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Bonnie Kaul Nastasi

  2. International Institute for Child Rights and Development, Victoria, BC, Canada

    Stuart N. Hart

  3. Department of Psychology, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Shereen C. Naser

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Hitchcock, J.H., Chesnut, C.E. (2020). Combining Ecological Systems Theory and Child Rights to Improve Research and Evaluation. In: Nastasi, B.K., Hart, S.N., Naser, S.C. (eds) International Handbook on Child Rights and School Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37119-7_28

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