Our comparative research project considered the challenges encountered when engaging low-income families in education research in the UK and China. In this blog post we highlight the context, study and key findings.
Existing research has shown a reluctance for some parents to engage in educational research, notably those from low-income families (Wilson & McGuire, 2021). Comparable international studies have noted that low-income families are underrepresented in clinical research trials such as the study by Walter and colleagues (2013). Habibi and colleagues’ (2015) research with Latino children from Los Angeles in the US indicates that low-income families are underrepresented in research for neuroimaging due to recruitment, involvement and retention challenges. Another study (Spoth & Redmond, 1993) was conducted with families comparing those who took part in a family-focused intervention project against those who did not. Time demands and research requirements are two factors that limit some people from participating in family-focused research studies.
Set within this context, we carried out a research project that examined the reluctance to participate in educational research with a focus on low-income families in diverse urban cultural contexts, which was informed by three aims. First, to work with families to explore the barriers to participating in educational research. Second, to understand how these might be overcome through socially and culturally sensitive research engagement. Third, to provide practical strategies to make involvement in educational research easier.
Working in two urban locations in China (Beijing) and England (Greater London), key stakeholders and parents/caregivers of primary aged children were interviewed. To recruit the sample in Greater London, we worked with a national charity that works with the most socioeconomically vulnerable families in their local areas. In China we worked with NGOs to locate participants. We adopted a qualitative methodology and carried out online interviews in China due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and in-person interviews in England at the charity’s offices.
