Managing the co-creation approach and methodology: Lessons learned from the KIDS4ALLL and NEW ABC H2020 projects

Despite the re-definition of the children’s role and agency in constructing “their own lives, the lives of those around them and of the societies in which they live” (Prout, James, 1990, p. 8), “adult perceptions of children and children’s marginalized position in adult society” (Punch, 2002, p. 321) are still influencing how research with/on children is viewed and approached. Funding bodies as well as organizations invested in the protection of children’s rights have been advocating for a different approach to research with/on children by supporting and encouraging the implementation of co-creational and participatory methods of research that allow the voice of children and vulnerable groups to be heard and heeded. However, poor or tokenistic incorporation of children and young people’s voices in educational policy-making has meant that children and young people with a migrant background have been largely absent at worst or included in tokenistic ways, at best. The overarching aim of the KIDS4ALLL and NEW ABC H2020 projects was to trigger and facilitate an effective and sustainable process of co-participated creation and implementation of new or existing good practices for the inclusion of children and young people with a migrant background in formal, informal and non-formal education. Following a brief description of the main aims of the two projects, this paper explores the co-creation methodology and illustrates the lessons learned in the two projects from the co-creation process with a specific focus on teachers’ and associations’ perceptions of collaborative partnerships.