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ESRA 2023 Glance Program


All time references are in CEST

Using surveys in educational context and for the study of youth and children 1

Session Organiser Professor Dirk Schubotz (Queens University Belfast )
TimeWednesday 19 July, 14:00 - 15:00
Room U6-07

This session focuses on survey research exploring young people’s lives. It presents research on young people’s experiences of harm, social values, their sexual experiences and intimate relationships and the influence factors and the role of siblings and other significant others in the development of educational aspirations. The session includes international survey research undertaken on behalf of UNICEF in Asia as well as survey data from central Europe. The presenters will discuss ethical methodological issues in researching sensitive topics using survey research.

Keywords: education, youth,

Papers

Social values in pandemic period: a web-survey on university students

Mrs Barbara Sonzogni (Sapienza University of Rome) - Presenting Author
Mr Dario Germani (CNR - National Research Council)
Mrs Gabriella D'Ambrosio (Sapienza University of Rome)

The aim of this paper is to explore the consequences resulting from global emergencies cases, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic. For this reason, the work is set within a framework that explores how, in the case of catastrophes (such as a natural disaster or pandemic), the resulting feelings can overwhelm the individual, leading them into a state of uncertainty. This leads to disruptive effects in everyday life that many sociologists refer to as 'ordinary', as the 'extraordinary' state takes people in unpredictable directions. In this context, some specific category of individuals, depending on how they have dealt with the pandemic, in terms of distress or resilience, may be characterised by an orientation towards specific social values.
Following these premises, in order to explore the dimension of the social values taking into account the sociodemographic characteristics (such as gender, age, cultural capital, nationality) and the emotional dimension that characterized the pandemic period (feelings of stress or resilience), a web-survey conducted in 2021 on all international students from Sapienza University of Rome (both ‘outgoing’ or ‘incoming’) makes possible to examine the positioning of the interviewed in terms of innovative or conservative attitudes. This index has been constructed starting from specific items of the quantitative survey related to the role of the women in the society, the composition of the family, the perception of the foreign component, the importance of the State and the governative rules.
The results obtained show how the innovative mindset defines people aged 18-21, European citizens, women more than men and it tends to be higher among those with a high cultural capital; on the contrary, the conservative index is higher for people aged over 26, extra-European, men and among persons characterized by low cultural capital.


Disrupting Harm: The challenges of conducting multi-country research on children’s experience of harm

Ms Olivia Ryan (Ipsos) - Presenting Author

This research will describe some of the challenges of conducting cross comparative survey research across regions of the world with diverse cultures. In 2020/21 Ipsos conducted Disrupting Harm on behalf of UNICEF – a nationally representative household survey of children aged 12-17 and their caregivers in 13 countries across Eastern and Southern Africa and South-East Asia. The survey collected data on children’s experiences of online violence, sexual exploitation and abuse using a part self-complete random probability face-to-face survey methodology.

The research paper will focus on some of the key challenges involved in delivering the research:

- Collecting data on sensitive topics from children and young people:
Our approach to conducting ethical research on a sensitive subject with children, including how we developed a global response and referral plan while remaining responsive to local contexts, where the welfare system may not be well developed.

- Ethical issues involving children and you people in surveys, including information consent and young people's rights:
Some of the specific challenges involved in delivering a household survey with children on such a sensitive a topic, including the role of the interviewer, how self-completion was used for sensitive questions, and the complications of maintaining privacy in a household setting whilst obtaining informed consent from parents.

- How the survey was adapted given the timetabling and logistical challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic:
the ethical and safety implications of continuing face-to-face research during the pandemic, and adaptations to deal with national outbreaks of COVID-19 as well as other socio-political events.

The research paper will close with a reflection on how the data is being used to further the debate on how we can best protect children from online harm at the national and international level.


Young adults’ intimate relationships: identification and practices among 18-29 year old’s

Mrs Constance Hemmer (Ined) - Presenting Author
Mrs Ruxandra Breda-Popa (Ined)
Mrs Marie Bergstrom (Ined)

The French Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) conducted a Survey on Young Adults Intimate Relationships, which is the first French survey to focus specifically on the sexuality and conjugality of young people between the ages of 18 and 29. Its objectives are to capture the diversity of emotional and sexual experiences and relationships in youth and to gather data about all types of relationships rather than only the first partner or the first spouse. Therefore, the questions cover four types of relationships: couples, ‘one-night stands’, other intimate relationships, and interests.
The questionnaire and the survey design were tested in 2021, with a pilot consisting of 352 respondents. A specific module focusing on recording the experiences of trans and non-binary people was also added following a focus group with employees and users of an association working on safety and trans rights. In order to be representative of the heterogeneity of the youths, we carefully worded the questions related to sex and gender. The questionnaire was methodologically designed to adapt to the diversity of minority profiles and situations, which we believe are shared by a growing number of young people. Through open-ended questions, unread response items, and a set of filters and conditional displays on sex and gender, the questionnaire allowed us to collect and match the experiences of respondents as well as the people they mention.
The data collection was conducted by telephone from 2022 to 2023 among 10,000 representative young people in metropolitan France. The information gathered on digital practices, gender identity, gender attitudes and norms, sexual orientation, sexual attraction, sexual behavior and practices, gay and lesbian experiences and socialization within LGBTQ spaces will make it possible to compare the way in which people identify and define themselves with actual practices.