Interview A School-Age Child To Pre-Adolescent (Age 7-11) ✓ Solved

INTERVIEW a school-age child to pre-adolescent (age 7-11; grade

INTERVIEW a school-age child to pre-adolescent (age 7-11; grade 1-6) using the questions below. In interviewing the child, tell them that the interview is for a project for your course in development.

Assure them that they have the right not to answer any of the questions and may stop the interview at any time. Let them know that no one will see the answers to the interview questions and that their names will not be used.

In giving the interview, write down as much of their responses as you can. You might consider tape recording the interview to avoid taking time to write the answers during the interview.

Be sure to ask permission to use a tape recorder and assure them that the tape will be erased. Feel free to add questions to the interview as appropriate while talking to the child, but be sure to cover all of the issues included.

Many of the questions are meant to have more than one or two sentence answers. You will need to practice using follow-up probes to get longer answers: “Can you tell me more about that?”, “I don’t understand. Can you give me an example?”, “How does that make you feel?”, “How important is that to you?”.

Incorporate questions about culture as appropriate. Culture includes religion, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, age, gender, etc.

Interview Questions: 1. How old are you? 2. What grade are you in? 3. How old are your parents? 4. What type of work do your parents do? 5. How many brothers and sisters do you have? How do you get along with them? 6. Tell me about your family. What do you do together? 7. What chores do you do at home? 8. What athletics, clubs, or other activities do you participate in? Tell me a little about them. 9. Do you like the activities that you are in? Do you wish you were involved more? less? 10. What TV shows do you watch? Video Games? 11. How much time each day do you spend watching television and videos, or playing video games? 12. How much time do you spend on the internet? What do you do on the internet? 13. Tell me about your friends. What do you do with them? 14. Do you have any best friends? How would you describe them? 15. How are your parents are strict with you? 16. How do your parents get you to do your schoolwork? How do you feel about this? 17. Tell me about school? What do you like about it? What don’t you like about it? 18. If you could change your school, what would you do to change it? 19. What makes a good teacher? Can you describe one of your best teachers? 20. What do you want to be when you grow up? 21. Is there anything else that you would like to tell me about yourself?

After you describe the interview, discuss your reaction (three paragraphs).

1. What did you learn? Did anything surprise you?
2. How did you feel during the interview?
3. What changes (if any) have occurred in your perception of older adults? (What did you think before? What do you think now?)

Paper For Above Instructions

Introduction and rationale. Conducting a structured interview with a school-age child (7–11 years) provides a window into how young people interpret family, school, and community engagement, and how these forces shape their daily experiences. The theoretical frame relies on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model, which posits that child development is embedded within multiple, interacting systems (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). By engaging directly with a child and inviting their perspectives on family involvement, educators and researchers can better align classroom practices with students’ lived realities and needs within their broader ecological context (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006). Moreover, applying family-systems concepts helps researchers understand how parent–child dynamics influence a child’s engagement with learning (Christian, 2006). This study also integrates culturally responsive perspectives to acknowledge diverse family structures, values, and expectations, as emphasized by contemporary scholarship on family engagement in education (Grant & Ray, 2018; Scully, Barbour, & Roberts-King, 2015). The ethical imperative to protect child participants—ensuring assent, confidentiality, and voluntary participation—draws on standard practices in developmental research (Kvale, 1996; Patton, 2015).

Method and procedures. The study employs a semi-structured interview format guided by a comprehensive list of questions designed to elicit the child’s views on family and community engagement, school experiences, and personal interests. The participant is a hypothetical 9-year-old child (approximate age 9, in Grade 4) used for demonstration purposes and to illustrate how the questions might be administered in a real setting. Prior to the interview, I would obtain parental consent and child assent, explain the purpose of the project, and confirm that participation is voluntary and that the child may skip any question or withdraw at any time. Anonymity would be preserved by not recording identifying information and by using a pseudonym in any write-up (Grant & Ray, 2018). If permitted by the parent and child, the interview would be audio-recorded to ensure accuracy; the recording would be destroyed after transcription (Kvale, 1996). Notes would also be taken to capture nonverbal cues and contextual details (Patton, 2015). The interview would be conducted in a quiet, familiar setting if possible, to promote comfort and candid responses (Scully, Barbour, & Roberts-King, 2015).

Data collection and analysis. The interview would cover topics across family background, daily routines, school experiences, community resources, and perceptions of teachers and peers. Data would be analyzed using thematic coding to identify recurring themes related to family involvement, autonomy in learning, perceptions of authority, and cultural considerations (Patton, 2015). The aim is to triangulate the child’s reported experiences with ecological and family-systems perspectives to understand how multiple systems influence engagement and development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006). Ethical reporting would emphasize descriptive, non-identifying detail to protect the child’s privacy (Kvale, 1996).

Rationale for cultural inclusion. Culture shapes how families communicate with schools, how authority is perceived, and how children understand their own identities within learning environments. Incorporating questions about culture aligns with culturally responsive family engagement frameworks, which stress respect for diverse family backgrounds and practices and seek to build equitable partnerships between families and schools (Grant & Ray, 2018; Santora, 2012). The inclusion of such questions helps ensure that findings reflect a broad range of family contexts and avoid pathologizing differences (Scully, Barbour, & Roberts-King, 2015).

Proposed transcript excerpt (illustrative). The following is a short, representative segment of a possible interview with a child named "Alex." Q: How old are you? A: Nine. Q: What grade are you in? A: Fourth. Q: What activities do you enjoy? A: Soccer and drawing. Q: What do your parents do to help you with schoolwork? A: They remind me to start on time and check my homework. These verbatim segments illustrate how children express agency, preferences, and family support in relation to school experiences, while also hinting at cultural expectations around achievement and parental involvement (Crosson-Tower, 2017).

Discussion and interpretation. The themes that emerge from the hypothetical interview typically align with ecological and family-systems theories. Family support and a stable home environment correlate with greater engagement in learning tasks and a sense of security within school contexts (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Christian, 2006). When children describe parental involvement as guidance rather than control, it resonates with the balance between authoritative and supportive parenting styles that fosters self-regulated learning, autonomy, and motivation (Scully, Barbour, & Roberts-King, 2015). The data also underscore the importance of culturally responsive practices that validate diverse family expectations while maintaining high expectations for children’s learning (Grant & Ray, 2018). Finally, the ethical considerations highlighted in this protocol reflect best practices in developmental research, emphasizing assent, confidentiality, and transparent communication with families (Kvale, 1996; Patton, 2015).

Practical implications for educators and researchers. The interview framework demonstrates how to gather child-centered insights to inform classroom practices and family engagement strategies. Educators can use the themes identified through such interviews to tailor communication channels with families, design inclusive activities, and support transitions across home and school settings. Researchers can apply the methodology to examine how ecological and cultural factors intersect to shape children’s engagement, with attention to ethical safeguards and child welfare. In sum, this approach contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how family, school, and community systems collaborate to support child development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006; Grant & Ray, 2018).

Limitations and future directions. The illustrative nature of the transcript means results are not generalizable. Future work would involve actual recruitment of child participants with parental consent and deeper engagement across diverse communities to examine how contextual factors differentially influence engagement outcomes. Longitudinal designs could illuminate how family engagement and school experiences interact over time to support developmental trajectories (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).

References

• Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.
• Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In W. Damon & R. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Theoretical models of human development (6th ed., pp. 793-828). Wiley.
• Christian, L. G. (2006). Understanding families: Applying family systems theory to early childhood practice. Young Children on the Web. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/.
• Crosson-Tower, C. (2017). Exploring child welfare: A practice perspective. Pearson.
• Grant, K. B., & Ray, J. A. (2018). Home, school, and community collaboration: Culturally responsive family engagement. Sage Publications.
• Kvale, S. (1996). InterViews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Sage.
• Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods. Sage.
• Santora, L. (2012). How can you create a learning environment that respects diversity? Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved from https://www.adl.org/.
• Scully, P., Barbour, C., & Roberts-King, H. (2015). Families, schools, and communities: Building partnerships for educating children. Pearson Education, Inc.
• Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.