Young Children are Researchers

The ‘Young Children Are Researchers’ (YCAR) project is a participatory study that recognises ways that young children adopt research behaviours to build knowledge and how they can be supported to do so. It is important because (i) teachers and parents often find it difficult to assess young children’s knowledge acquisition and (ii) methods of doing so are contested and YCAR provides an evidence-based framework and (iii) it is important to establish what young children know in order to make provision for their next phase of learning. To date, the study findings have reached thousands of practitioners, education leaders, academics, students and policymakers in the UK and overseas through varied publications, dissemination events and endorsements from external education organisations and individuals.