Methodological analysis of listening to and participation of children in research with/about them

Análise metodológica da participação e escuta das crianças nas pesquisas com/sobre elas

Análisis metodológico de la participación y escucha de los niños en investigaciones con/sobre ellos

Analysis of the production of the postgraduate course in Education and in Physical Education on research with children.

Evidence of instruments and strategies for listening to and participating in research.

Progress indicated by Physical Education in the ways of researching with children and promoting their participation.

It analyzes instruments and data production strategies in research with children, in the educational areas of Education and Physical Education. This is an integrative review of postgraduate productions in Brazil, with an analysis based on the Sociology of Childhood. Results point to the use of a field diary, observation, conversation circles, among others, in research. Although studies indicate the child as a subject, not every procedure promotes their listening and participation. There is also an instrumental appropriation of their ways of communicating, with little space for their creations to be evidenced. The study pointed out an important contribution of Physical Education in the ways of researching with children.

The emergence of the theoretical perspectives that guide the New Social Studies of Childhood, which affirm the child as a subject of rights (Corsaro, 2011; Sarmento, 2011; Qvortrup, 2010) and value their social action as a significant practice (Tomás & Fernandes, 2013), build conditions for them to be recognized as subjects by/with whom relevant scientific knowledge can be constructed (Fernandes, 2016).

As pointed out by several fields (Active Pedagogies, Freirean Studies, Anthropology), but above all, by the Sociology of Childhood (SI), the present study conceives childhood as a social category, of the generational type, and the child as a subject that produces knowledge and culture. These fields, keeping their particularities, present the child as a structuring part of society, a social actor of rights and duties, endowed with understanding of the contexts in which they live.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child formally legitimizes the child as an active subject of rights, "[...] in which it is essential to consider their voice and participation, as well as to safeguard their best interests" (Fernandes, 2016, p. 763). Thinking through this logic breaks with hegemonic perspectives of research, especially the positivist structure, based on the research model that separates the subject from the object, in search of standardization of results. In the field of SI, research that transgresses these paradigms and announces the child as a participant enunciates a distinct epistemological reorientation to hegemonic knowledge (Mello et al., 2015). This movement invites the elaboration of research based on the active and patient listening of researchers, to the many ways of observing, speaking, and listening to children, evidencing the condition of listening now assumed and of participation with/among them (Rocha, 2012).

We adopted methodological issues as the axis of this study to provoke reflections on the child and on how his ways and knowledge are validated, in attention to his rationality and uniqueness. Specifically, it is important to know how researchers in the fields of Education and Physical Education (PE) have been producing knowledge from the participation and listening of children in research. We focus attention on these fields because we consider the interfaces of knowledge between them, in dealing with these themes and aiming at understanding a broader investigative social space. What instruments and strategies have been mobilized in their methodological dimensions? What are the limits and scope of the procedures? Given the problematizations, this article aims to analyze the instruments/strategies¹of data production with children, mobilized by Education and PE researchers.

We performed an Integrative Review of publications available in the Catalog of Theses and Dissertations of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CTD/Capes) and descriptive-interpretative analysis based on SI, to examine data from research, regarding Education and PE, which announced the child as the subject of the study.

According to Botelho et al. (2011, p. 122), the integrative review "[...] allows the researcher to get closer to the problem he wants to assess, outlining an overview of his scientific production, so that he can know the evolution of the theme over time". The term "integrative" originates from the integration of opinions, concepts, or ideas from the selected research. This approach allows the inclusion of works with various methodologies, experimental or not, to review methods, theories and/or empirical studies on a particular topic.

The integrative review process followed a succession of well-defined stages, based on the following question: what were the instruments/strategies adopted in the research that announce the child as a subject, produced by the graduate program in Education and PE, published in CTD/Capes, from 2012 to 2022? This choice is justified by the fact that it is the main source of dissemination of Brazilian academic productions, especially because it allows access to the works of the country's graduate programs. On the other hand, the time range, from 2012 to 2022, was established based on the bibliometric indicator of updating knowledge in the last five years for theses and dissertations (Job, 2006) and, in the context of insertion of this study, as a possibility to understand the current state and trends of research within the scope of this theme in these fields of knowledge.

To identify the publications in CTD/Capes, we proceeded with the platform's tools. We used the exact phrase operator with double quotation marks and the Boolean operator AND to join the keywords and broaden the search. The AND operator, in capital letters, aims to join the two terms. We use: "physical education" AND "early childhood education". In this action, in April 2023, we found 350 studies.

Subsequently, the inclusion criteria were established: a) articles published between 2012 and 2022; b) available at CTD/Capes or in the respective educational programs libraries; c) developed in the postgraduate course in Education or PE; e) which mention the child (up to 6 years old) as the subject of the research. The refinement of the results considered the following exclusion criteria: studies not available online; not corresponding to the stage of Early Childhood Education (EI); produced in other graduate programs or without a master's/doctorate in Education or PE; or which did not show the participation of the child as sources of data production.

Out of the 350 studies identified, 81 did not correspond to the time frame; 35 came from other graduate programs and 15 were not available at CTD/Capes or in the educational programs libraries. In another 190 studies eliminated, we gathered those that did not include children up to 6 years of age as subjects and those that did not occur in the EI stage. A total of 29 pre-selected studies remained, in which we read the abstracts, the methodological description, and the chapters that indicated data with/about the children. After the analysis, we discarded 11 texts that did not show instruments/strategies for listening and participation of children. Thus, the corpus consists of 18 works, 6 theses (4 in PE and 2 in Education), and 12 dissertations (11 in PE and 1 in Education), according to Chart 1, which lists only the works that met the inclusion criteria established by this study.

Synthesis Matrix of the Postgraduate Studies in Education and Physical Education (2012-2022)

*M = Master’s degree; D = Doctor’s degree; Ed = Education; EF = Physical Education; OP = Participative Observation; DC = Field Journal.

After the analysis, we extracted the main instruments/strategies evidenced in the production of data with children and grouped them by thematic approximations, as shown in Chart 2, recognizing the possibility of data transiting through different groups.

The descriptive-interpretative analysis problematizes the instruments/strategies based on the notes made by the authors themselves in their dissertations and theses, which, in general terms, indicate the scope and limits of these resources.

In this analysis group, we gathered instruments/strategies based on what was produced in the daily investigations. The 18 studies analyzed mention the use of Field Diary (DC) or related terms, denoting the recognition of the potential of this resource to carry out the interpretative and analytical process of the investigation. According to Lopes et al. (2002), the DC is an instrument of reflection for researchers that allows them to broaden their understanding of objective data. However, it is limited to the researcher and his ability to read reality. "[...]. In addition to the theoretical-methodological issue, subjectivity is at work here. [...] Thus, the researcher captures from reality what his mental schemas assimilate" (Lopes et al., 2002, p. 132). The uses and ways of producing the DC, however, do not obey a linear order. They depend on the researcher's ability to capture data from reality, concerning his object of study.

We sought to identify the extent to which the researchers gave visibility to the child's participation and listening through this instrument. In the studies by Duarte (2021) and Zandomínegue (2018), the DC became an object of children's attention by arousing their curiosity about what was written down in the notebook. As an example, we have the following excerpt:

[...] Some children came to interact with me, one of them asked if I was a teacher, I said no, then asked why I was there. And then he asked to see my diary, "notebook" and to write his name, three other children were close and joined in the conversation and the game of writing in my diary [...] (Excerpt from DC – Duarte, 2021, p. 142, emphasis added)

In the context of studies with children, the process through which the researcher establishes an approach to children as subjects of the study and their entry into the field requires attention and care in the methodology of research with them, especially due to the need for a convergence of the adult to the children's universe. From this perspective, the aim is to overcome historically constructed asymmetrical power relations, according to which the child is the one who penetrates the adult world or who is always at the mercy of their teachings.

Based on the concept of reactive input (Corsaro, 2011), in which the researcher is perceived by the group even before making himself or herself perceived, we consider that the DC as a recording instrument expands the possibilities of approaching the investigated group. However, there are limits in the theoretical register of a lived experience, as well as in the way of dimensioning reality. For Freitas and Pereira (2018, p. 239), "[...] the way the experience is described refers to the difficulty of expressing what has been experienced, but to the extent that one writes about this experience, it is possible to produce new meanings at the moment”.

In a critique of the ways of operating in research of this nature that contemplates the creative subject, Redin (2009) states that there is still a lack of elements that help to dimension the possibility of creation in children's cultures. In other words, not all research that is conducted with children shows that they listen to their peer culture¹ (Corsaro, 2011). Part of this problem may be associated with the instrument or its use in the process of data collection/production with children.

The works of Franco (2022) and Klippel (2013) demarcate children's speeches expressed through narratives and enunciations and that are evidenced by the researcher's forms of records in DC. The demarcations of the children's speeches in the DC excerpts are presented according to the researcher's own decision (italics). For us, they are clues (Ginzburg, 1989) of a sensitive attitude of listening to the child and valuing his speech. This point is observable in the following excerpts: 1) "Upon seeing the map, Mariana [the child] commented: hey teacher, my father told me that when the sun sets, it rises in another city" (Excerpt from DC – Franco, 2022, p. 138, emphasis added); 2) "[...] most of the children lost interest in the movie [...] and asked: teacher, let us play! I don't want to see a movie, no! [...]" (Excerpt from DC – Klippel, 2013, p. 97, emphasis added).

We recognize that DC and other instruments alone do not guarantee the effective participation of children. This will depend, among other reasons, on how decisions are made throughout the study. In this sense, Fernandes and Marchi (2020) highlight the role of the researcher in the effort to bring research methodologies closer to children, respecting their alterities, times, schedules, and languages. For Ennew (2011), children's voices are sometimes excluded due to the inability of adults to promote their participation.

In this sense, we highlight the potential of DC to give visibility to children's voices, in addition to promoting an approach to them. This understanding presupposes the effort of the researcher, who dedicates himself or herself to investigating with them and promoting their listening. Findings such as this converge with a perceptible increase in concern for the living conditions of children, expressed by the publication of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the United Nations (UN, 1989). This convention recognizes, in its 54 articles, children (human beings under 18 years of age) as individuals with the right to complete physical, mental, and social development, as well as to freely express their opinions (United Nations Children's Fund [UNICEF], 2006). Allowing participation and listening to be evidenced by research methods contributes to the recognition of children as active agents in their socialization and development processes.

This sub-item brings together the instruments/strategies that are close to the precepts of Participant Observation (OP), as shown in Chart 2. Observation is a scientific procedure to the extent that it is in favor of a defined research object (Gil, 2022). It can be systematically planned, specifically about what you want to observe. Based on this assumption, in all studies, there were regular observations about the children's daily lives. Its various forms prove to be a requirement for the production of DC and, at times, are linked to audiovisual recordings and iconographic records.

We are struck by the fact that, out of the 13 studies that claimed participant observation, only four were concerned with the description of the theoretical, methodological, and technical principles concerning the instruments adopted by the research. Alessi (2017) ponders the scope and limitations of field observation notes and highlights the strong relationship between this instrument and the others used:

During the observations, I made small notes to assist in the denser notes that were produced after leaving the institution. Some moments experienced by the children, in which I noticed a greater rapport and communication between them and that would be potentially rich to elucidate the research, were recorded with a camera. (Alessi, 2017, p. 64)

The precise organization in the use of OP, as verified in Guimarães (2020, p. 34), based on an observation matrix composed of specific axes, allowed more objective conclusions, such as: "the observation led the author to realize that the excess of denials to the child's action was based on the mistake in the interpretation of the word care". Similarly, it occurs in Ramirez (2019), in the adaptation of a script already validated by the literature in research with babies, aiming to standardize the observation of pedagogical experiences. Barbosa (2018, p. 38) announces the observation and recording of spaces-times systematized in an observation script and recognizes that:

[...] Developing contact and participatory observation with children in everyday school life is one of the first challenges for those who want to carry out ethnographic research [...]because adults are [...] physically larger than children, more powerful, and often seen as having control over children's behavior.

The methodological decision to observe and participate can soften the relations of submission or oppression often present in research, in adult/child coexistence, given the generational conditions. In the field of SI, the studies of Corsaro (2005) highlight this issue, by presenting the researcher as an atypical adult in the way of establishing contact and interacting with children in a more egalitarian way. However, this evidence does not exempt the researcher from the challenge of suspending the adult gaze and allowing himself to be immersed in the universe of children, even if in an attitude of interaction with them.

Authors such as Sarmento and Pinto (1997) affirm the decentralization of the adult's gaze as a condition for children's perception and the intelligibility of childhood. For Marchi (2010), childhood studies should give voice and time to children and their actions as endowed with meaning with their logic, that of children's cultures or worlds. In this sense, interpretative and ethnographic methodologies stand out as resources that summon adults to challenge the barriers of adult-centrism.

However, it is necessary to consider that childhood is a social condition determined by a cultural and historical construction, characterized by power relations. Therefore, there is no way to study it in isolation from the social relations that constitute it. For Freire (1981), research participants are subjects who produce culture and knowledge in their relationships with others. In this sense, the relationship established between adults and children should be one of horizontality. One of the potentialities of OP is to make this issue viable. In addition, in OP the facts are perceived and transcribed, sometimes directly by the researcher, that is, in their own completeness, dynamism, and belonging to the locus of the study.

Few studies have pointed to the limitations of OP. Research with babies, developed by Valentim (2020, p. 95), provided us with some clues by highlighting that the actions of looking, listening, and writing are not neutral, as this exercise influences the researcher's way of perceiving reality, based on their subjectivities: "[...] In a relational, dynamic environment with sensory, emotional, and cognitive processes, observation is also a complex process because it cannot encompass all events and because of the multiple human dimensions that cross and transit through it”.

The analysis of OP showed the association of more than one instrument in different investigative contexts. This instrument/strategy was linked to other sources of evidence, especially in ethnographic and case studies, as observed in Ota (2020), Barbosa (2018), and Zandomínegue (2018). In addition, the OP pointed out an influence on the description of the contexts, subjects, and environments, that is, on the author's writing/narrative and on the task of explaining the phenomenon studied in detail.

This topic gathers image records, as described in Chart 2. Of the 18 studies analyzed, 16 indicated the use of one or more elements, with the predominance of pictures.

The images in photos appear as support for the characterization of the locus of the study (institution, classroom, library, cafeteria, courtyard, etc.) and, sometimes, to capture the children's activities (Fávero, 2022) or produced by them (Rosa, 2014). Ramirez (2019) adopted the photographic and video record to illustrate the results through non-verbal language and to provide the opportunity to revisit the actual data capture, as many times as necessary, filling the gaps left by other forms of records. Through iconographic records, Ewald (2021) presents the multifacets of children's drawings. Similarly, Franco (2022) establishes mosaics of photographs to demonstrate the protagonism of children in play.

However, the studies that have been willing to use photo/video have leniently addressed the conceptual issues and justifications for the adoption of these resources. In general, the authors seem to understand that drawings, photos, videos, and other tools make up an arsenal of multiple children's languages. Thus, when associated with other ways of communicating with children, iconographic records can qualify the understanding of the meanings that they, in their rationalities and alterities, attribute to the contexts in which they participate. Farias (2021) conceives drawing and, specifically, the arts in research with children, as potentiators of interpretative analyses of their distinct ways of understanding the world.

Duarte (2021) evidences narrative images such as the one coming from the narrators (research participants), who do not describe something that is already given, but attribute meanings to the events experienced and recorded a priori. Lano (2019), in ethnography with children, adopts imagery narratives (drawings, photos, and videos), reaching the meanings attributed to learning from the children's perspective. Her work demonstrates the use of these records associated with oral narratives to broaden the understanding of the object studied. Klippel (2013, p. 74) articulates different instruments to broaden his fields of data analysis/production: "[...] We analyzed the data systematized in the field diary, relating them to the material produced in the iconographic records (filming and photographs)”.

In the meantime, the articulation of different instruments/strategies for data collection/production with children appears as a condition/need for the researcher, given the complexity involved in studies that are dedicated to the child's participation/listening. Although, at times, the chosen methods were not densely contextualized for the investigation with them, the discussion of the data occurred, in large part, through the articulation of different sources.

It should be noted that the analysis of this category, due to its imagery exposition, sharpens the demand for ethical care in the treatment of images and preservation of identities. Only six studies demarcated the use of the Free and Informed Assent Term (TALE). In four of them (Ceratti, 2020; Ewald, 2021; Farias, 2021; Franco, 2022), the term was applied by the researcher in a session with the children, through playful strategies and accessible language. Two other studies (Alessi, 2017; Ramirez, 2019) announced the use of TALE through attentive listening to perceive the subtlety of infants' assent.

The emergence of theoretical perspectives on childhood, which defend the child as a social actor, and subject of rights (Corsaro, 2011; Fernandes, 2016), has collaborated so that children are recognized as active participants in their development processes, therefore, they should be heard in research with/about them. According to Fernandes (2016, p. 766), discussions about how these and other ethical aspects are being (or not) being respected always have as a common denominator "the defense that safeguarding is fundamental in building a relationship of respect with the child, in which his or her best interests are defended at any time". Certain that one of the roles of research is the dissemination of its results, we consider that these tensions need to be discussed to construct ethics. It is necessary to highlight the participation of children in research, and it is essential to ensure possibilities of authorship and protection for them.

This sub-item gathers the children's speech records (Chart 2). Of the 18 studies, only one pointed to the use of semi-structured interviews with children (Silva, 2021). In the conclusions, the author himself considered the limitation of the use of this instrument with young children, especially due to the difficulty for them to verbalize about the processes experienced. In addition, he acknowledged that there was greater engagement and participation of them in the procedures with games. Rocha (2012, p. 45) considers the semi-structured interview as "inappropriate for children, as it generates responses of social desirability, that is, the research subject responds to what he perceives to be the dominant expectation", in addition to requiring mastery of speaking, reading or writing skills.

Farias (2021, p. 93) recognized the potential of games for communication with children. The author adopted the interview game, understood as a playful moment in which they play at answering an interview. She also highlighted the use of drawings in relation to oral and body language as an artistic dimension that enhances analyses, "since they bring interpretative possibilities of different ways of understanding the world through the lens of the researcher and the research participants".

It is worth reinforcing play as the child's language. It is through play that she communicates, expresses, relates, invents, and speaks unconventionally. Play and interactions with peers are potential resources for listening and participating. In addition to promoting the appreciation of their playful and imaginative processes, they favor their relationship with elements that make up their culture. Thus, it is necessary to consider that, when the other is the child, oral language is not central or the only one, since their way of communicating is accompanied by other bodily, gestural, expressive, and rhythmic expressions (Friedman, 2020).

Other studies have appropriated conversation/dialogue circles as a strategy to capture children's voices. The study by Guimarães (2020) announced the interview to capture the playful-bodily experiences. However, it emphasized its adaptation in the format of conversation circles. It is noteworthy that, in this study, the circles are listed as a systematic instrument for the production of data with the children. In Klippel (2013), Franco (2022), and Fávero (2022), conversation circles were a pedagogical strategy for mediation with children, promoting their participation and listening through child protagonism and valuing the culture of the circle with children (Fávero, 2022).

The excerpts captured, in the context of mediation with the children, seem to have important contributions to the analyses/discussions, and the information is usually recorded in the DC. It is possible to observe in Guimarães (2018, p. 134): "These conversation circles of ours with the children served as a kick-start for our productions with them". Likewise, Franco (2022, p. 157): "In a conversation circle, the children verbalized how much they enjoyed having participated and pointed out the most relevant points for each one. These episodes ratify the need to shift the gaze from the adult and to value children's creations".

Zandomínegue (2018) recognizes the circles as important spaces to stimulate orality and the perception of children's expressiveness. Since the circles are developed with the children in an informal climate and as a stage of the proposed activities, more concise elaborations can be created based on the propositional questions of the teacher-researcher.

According to Zanotto (2016), the circle as a methodological tool can highlight the experience with the bonds constituted in the children's individual history and lead the discussion of the theme in question also to its general and conceptual aspect. In addition, it can be considered as a propelling element of children's voices.

We consider that the low incidence of the use of interviews with children denotes the lack of recognition, on the part of the researchers, of this resource for listening/participation of the children. The analysis of these studies points to a trend of productive consumption (Certeau, 2011) of traditional resources for data collection/production with children, in addition to the articulation with different languages (drawing, games and other forms of expressions).

This group includes data from actions/interactions with children. Guimarães (2018), Barbosa (2018), Zandomínegue (2018), Duarte (2021), Farias (2021), and Franco (2022) caught our attention due to the diversity of instruments adopted for data production. Some authors point out that the use of different sources for collection/production expands the possibilities of approaching this group (Redin, 2009) and enhances conditions of analysis, with greater precision of the results – namely in the case of children and their hundred languages (Malaguzzi, 1999).

The expressions of children's cultures revealed in their networks of relationships are something difficult to verbalize in words, as they are established through rhythm, movement, expression, gestures, and speech, among other elements. The action of researching with them requires combating the control strategies of Cartesian science, which aims to capture complexity (such as that of the daily life of EI) by eliminating other forms of knowledge produced (this includes children's knowledge). In this regard, we value the attention that some studies have proposed to give when considering as a source the products of the actions undertaken with the children, given the specificities and theoretical-methodological challenges of each one.

The authors who announced the use of narratives and/or enunciations did so based on Certeau (2011). For this scholar, there is a speech in action, that takes place through enunciation, which needs to be considered in studies that propose to talk about practices, creations, and arts of making. The interlocutions with the author make it possible to understand the research as a historical, dynamic, polyphonic, and permanent hunting process, as well as those who propose to listen to children.

Certeau (2011, p. 140) values narratives and differentiates them from discourse, the latter being an observation at a distance, which only allows "[...] to say about what the other says about his art." For us, the fact that childhood researchers mobilize this theoretical framework indicates a concrete movement of research with children, which seeks to overcome the external gaze, often expressed by the researchers' discourses about practices. On the contrary, an investigation based on Certeau (2011) values practices and narratives as arts of making and arts of saying. By transcribing the speeches in their contextualized actions and/or considering their drawings as arts of saying, expressed through artistic language, the researchers ensure the child's speech authority, promoting participation and listening in research with/about/for them.

Regarding design, nine studies pointed to it as a form of data production. The drawings denote discourses, tell stories, and express children's feelings, just like a visual text that should be captured and valued by researchers. Fávero (2022) and Guimarães (2018) adopted drawing as a listening strategy, which, associated with other actions, such as moments of conversation and play, provided clues on how to proceed with mediation/research with them. Despite indicating drawing as a data source, we did not identify this production in Franco (2022). Klippel (2013), on the other hand, valued drawing in the construction of knowledge from the child and for the child.

Farias (2021) adopted drawing as one of the stages of the interview game to collect more information about children's learning. Ewald (2021) used drawing as a strategy for insertion in the field of research and diagnosis of the interests of the researched group. Duarte (2021) valued the children's drawings in his DC, making evident the marks of the relationships and meanings they produced with the researcher.

Lano (2019) problematized drawing as an evaluative practice in EI, pointing out the limits and potentialities of this methodological resource. The author also evidences the utilitarian use of drawing when this element is placed as a support for the pedagogical actions developed with the children, with illustrative purposes, without attention to what the child wants to communicate.

As an instrument/strategy listed to promote children's participation, drawing allows us to capture what the adult's social world sometimes does not allow, since it is not guided by the way children do, think, see, and feel. Although we recognize this and other children's languages as sources of data, which already indicate an advance in the field, we consider that there has been little exploration, from the point of view of the analysis of this resource, by the researchers. Building research practices that broaden opportunities for access to children's cultural productions requires considering the ethical ontology of their practices, perspectives, and authorship in the processes of constructing knowledge about themselves.

The present study analyzed instruments/strategies adopted in research with children produced by the graduate program in Education and PE. Among the instruments mobilized by the researchers, the DC was predominant, since everyone adopted it. This instrument proved to attract the child's attention in the context of the investigation, favoring the approach and entry of the researcher into the group. However, the way of recording is directly related to the researcher's choices, with their subjectivities and conditions of reading the facts. Not every form of recording in the DC was specifically about the children's speech. There were cases of predominance of the researcher's discourse over his or her narratives. The limit expressed by the written language is pointed out: that of evidencing the child, the creative subject, and his culture in action.

The observation of reality is an essential condition for the writing of the DCs. However, out of the 18 studies, only 13 specifically pointed to it as a research tool. The character of the participation circumscribed to the method allowed greater interaction of the researcher and the promotion of the children's performance. The OP expanded the ways of obtaining information, in addition to favoring the cross-referencing of data. As a challenge, there is a need for the researcher to suspend the adult-centered view of children and their practices in the scope of the investigation. Images, photos, and videos proved to be instruments that qualify the researcher's analyses of other forms of records. The narrative images and imagery narratives adopted as triggers for conversations with the children and as a promotion of learning for the researcher are highlighted. The limit lies in the scope of the ethical care necessary for the use of images, the need for authorization, the preservation of identity, and the reliability of the data.

The conversation circle was, notably, the most adopted (or recognized) instrument as a potential for dialogue with children. Only one study reported the use of semi-structured interviews, indicating the limitations of this method with children. The exception is the interview game, which appears as a strategy for adapting the instrument. About drawing, there was little insertion and exploration as a place for the children to speak. We understand that it is the researcher who interprets, analyzes, and discusses the data, and, as much as the researcher proposes to listen to the children, the question is: how does he or she do this based on drawings and other aesthetic manifestations of the children? Thus, we consider that there is a limitation of the researchers concerning the analysis of the design as given in the research.

In the general panorama of the analyses, we show that PE has expressed an important contribution to the advancement of this theme, especially in the ways of doing research with children, promoting their participation and highlighting their creations and cultures. We reinforce our understanding that isolated instruments do not account for the totality of the object. Furthermore, the limit situation of the use of a given resource is not exactly in the instrument itself, but in the way it is used/employed by the researcher, considering the specificity of the study/method.

Finally, we recognize that operating with the resources of CTD/Capes for the identification of the works was the great challenge of this survey, given the variation in the quantity indicated by the platform, as well as the unavailability of some articles. We indicate the possible expansion of this study, based on the research of other sources and databases.

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Barbosa, R. F. M. (2018). As produções culturais das crianças como eixo de articulação curricular da Educação Física com a Educação Infantil. [Tese de Doutorado, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo]. Repositório Institucional Ufes. https://repositorio.ufes.br/handle/10/1034

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PhD in physical education from the Federal University of Espírito Santo (2018). Adjunct professor at the Faculty of Physical Education and Dance at the Federal University of Goiás. Member of the research group Núcleo de Aprendizagem com as Infâncias e seus Fazeres (NAIF/UFES). Email: bethania.costa@ufg.br

PhD in school education from Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (2008). Associate professor at the Department of Physical Education and Human Motricity at the Federal University of São Carlos. Coordinator of the Center for Child Research and Training of Early Childhood Educators (Cfei/UFSCar). Email: alves.sommer@gmail.com

PhD in education from the Federal University of São Carlos (2019). Adjunct professor at the Faculty of Physical Education and Dance at the Federal University of Goiás. Member of the Child Research and Training Center for Early Childhood Educators (Cfei/UFSCar). Email: luanazanotto@ufg.br

Contribution to the preparation of the text: the authors contributed equally to the preparation of the manuscript.

Analisa instrumentos e estratégias de produção de dados nas pesquisas com crianças, nos campos da Educação e da Educação Física. Trata-se de revisão integrativa das produções da pós-graduação do Brasil, com análise fundamentada pela Sociologia da Infância. Resultados apontam o uso de diário de campo, observação, rodas de conversa e outros nas pesquisas. Embora os estudos indiquem a criança como sujeito, nem todo procedimento promove sua escuta e participação. Há, ainda, uma apropriação instrumental das suas formas de comunicar, com pouco espaço para que tenham suas agências evidenciadas. O estudo apontou importante contribuição da Educação Física nos modos de pesquisar com crianças.

Palavras-chave: Pesquisa com criança. Protagonismo infantil. Educação Física.

Analiza instrumentos y estrategias de producción de datos en investigaciones con niños, en los campos de la Educación y la Educación Física. Se trata de una revisión integradora de las producciones de posgrado en Brasil, con un análisis basado en la Sociología de la Infancia. Los resultados apuntan al uso del diario de campo, observación, círculos de conversación, entre otros, en la investigación. Si bien los estudios señalan al niño como sujeto, no todos los procedimientos promueven su escucha y participación. También hay una apropiación instrumental de sus formas de comunicarse, con poco espacio para que se evidencien sus agencias. El estudio señaló una importante contribución de la Educación Física en las formas de investigar con los niños.

Palabras clave: Investigación infantil. Protagonismo infantil. Educación Física.

Linhas Críticas | Journal edited by the Faculty of Education at the University of Brasília, Brazil e-ISSN: 1981-0431 | ISSN: 1516-4896

Full reference (APA): Zandomínegue, B. A. C., Alves, F. D., & Zanotto, L. (2023). Methodological analysis of listening to and participation of children in research with/about them. Linhas Críticas, 29, e50641. https://doi.org/10.26512/lc29202350641

Full reference (ABNT): ZANDOMÍNEGUE, B. A. C.; ALVES, F. D.; ZANOTTO, L. Methodological analysis of listening to and participation of children in research with/about them. Linhas Críticas, 29, e50641. 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26512/lc29202350641

All information and opinions in this manuscript are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the journal Linhas Críticas, its editors, or the University of Brasília.

The authors hold the copyright of this manuscript, with the first publication rights reserved to the journal Linhas Críticas, which distributes it in open access under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

1For Corsaro (2011), peer cultures are a set of activities or routines, artifacts, values, and interests produced and shared by children, such as play, speech, and behaviors that reflect their cultural productions.

Author/ year	Title	Degree /Area of Study	Methodology	Tools/Strategies with children
Klippel (2013)	O jogo na Educação Física da Educação Infantil: usos e apropriações em um CMEI de Vitória-ES	M/EF	Studies with Everyday Life	OP, DC, Iconographic records and drawing
Rosa (2014)	Educação Física com crianças de 6 meses a 2 anos de idade: práticas produzidas no cotidiano de um CMEI de Vitória-ES	M/EF	Studies with everyday life	Iconographic records, narratives, OP e DC
Alessi (2017)	As linguagens dos bebês na Educação Infantil: diálogos do círculo de Bakhtin com Henri Wallon	D/Ed	Not identified	Observations, recordings and field notes
Guimarães (2018)	Dinâmica Curricular no cotidiano da Educação Infantil: um olhar a partir da prática pedagógica com a Educação Física	M/EF	Collaborative Action Research	OP, DC, enunciations, narratives, pictures, videos, voice recordings and drawings
Barbosa (2018)	O hibridismo brincante: um estudo sobre as brincadeiras lúdico-agressivas na Educação Infantil	D/EF	Etnography	OP, DC, recording, audios, narratives and enunciations
Zandomínegue (2018)	As produções culturais das crianças como eixo de articulação curricular da Educação Física com a Educação Infantil	D/EF	Etnography with children	OP, DC, narratives, audio, iconographic images, vídeos, drawings and conversation circles
Lano (2019)	Usos da avaliação indiciária na Educação Física com a Educação Infantil	D/EF	Etnography and Existencial Action Research	Imagetic narratives (drawings, pictures and vídeos), narratives and DC
Ramirez (2019)	A Educação Física na Educação Infantil: ambientes e materiais como recursos pedagógicos para bebês	M/EF	Action Research	Observation, group observation, DC, pictures and recording
Ceratti (2020)	Corpos, gêneros e diferenças: a literatura brasileira enquanto recurso didático-pedagógico nas aulas de Educação Física infantil	M/EF	Applied research with a collaborative approach	Field diary
Guimarães (2020)	Cultura da infância e Educação Física: um estudo a partir das práticas corporais de aventura	M/EF	Action research	Observation Matrix, DC, pictures and vídeos
Valentim (2020)	Educação Física na Educação Infantil: a organização da prática educativa com bebês em um Centro Municipal de Educação Infantil de Vitória-ES	M/EF	Action research	Systematic observation, pictures e DC
Ota (2020)	Histórias vivenciadas: ações interdisciplinares da Educação Física na Educação Infantil	M/EF	Case Study	Systematic observation, pictures and DC
Ewald (2021)	A prática pedagógica da Educação Física com a Educação Infantil: diálogos entre a Sociologia da Infância e o Comportamento Motor	M/EF	Existencial Action Research	OP, DC, drawings and pictures
Duarte (2021)	Educação Física cultural na Educação Infantil: imagens narrativas produzidas com professoras e crianças nos/dos/com os cotidianos de uma EMEI paulistana	D/Ed	Collaborative-critical action research and research on daily life	Interactions, observations, DC, pictures, videos, audio, drawings and narrative images
Silva (2021)	Educação Física escolar como ferramenta de promoção da autorregulação da aprendizagem na infância	M/Ed	Quasi-experimental intervention research	Observations, semi-structured interview, DC e interventions
Farias (2021)	Por uma Educação Física escolar "com" a Educação Infantil: um autoestudo	D/EF	Self-study	Narratives, field notes, conversation circles, interview games, drawings, pictures and videos
Franco (2022)	As brincadeiras historiadas nas mediações pedagógicas da Educação Física com a Educação Infantil	M/EF	Existential action research	OP, DC, pictures, videos, narratives and drawings
Fávero (2022)	Desafios e possibilidades para a mediação pedagógica com as danças populares no contexto da Educação Infantil	M/EF	Existential Action Research	Picture, DC, portfolio and drawing

Analysis Groups	Tools/Strategies	Description
Field Diary	DC/ Field Notes/Logbook/Portfolio	Theoretical records and perceptions of the researcher
Participant Observation	Observation/Observation Matrix/Systematic Observation/OP/Interactions	Observation of the researcher with or without interaction
Photos & Videos	Iconographic records/ photographs/images/videos/filming/imagery narratives	Recording of still or moving images
Conversation circle and interview	Semi-structured interviews/conversation circles/dialogue circles/interview games	Children’s speeches records
Proceeds of actions with children	Drawings/narratives/enunciations/oral and textual narratives/audios/narrative image	Production of data with children in the actions/interactions carried out with them