In interviews for interpretive inquiry or interpretive case studies, researchers hope to grasp participants' perspectives and learn about the nature and meaning of their experiences. There are many challenges or requirements for useful or successful interviews. In this paper we identify important aspects of interviews and examine the helpful…

Understanding children's experience is increasingly a key purpose of much educational research. In contrast to traditional approaches to the study of children that emphasized the socialization of children through various stages of development, researchers within the social constructionism perspective begin with an insistence that childhood is a…

This article is about the possibilities of conducting research with children productively. Children may need suitable prompts, occasions, or media for their expression. The discussion begins with an overview of the challenges or dynamics researchers can experience with any participants in qualitative research in the constructivist paradigm. It…

In two Alberta elementary schools, volunteer mentors were paired with 27 children, primarily in grades K-2, to provide support for literacy development. After six to eight weeks, interviews with students, mentors, and teachers showed that child-mentor relationships were enjoyable for both parties and that students improved in self-confidence and…

Discusses school programs and practices that prevent or remedy problem behavior in elementary school students by enlisting volunteers to provide caring relationships and extend the support base for meeting student needs. Describes planned research to document program outcomes as well as the experiences of participants in such activities, and to…