Children's Daily Lives during the COVID-19 Pandemic

21 Oct 2021

Children's daily lives during the COVID-19 pandemic: 

A qualitative participative online study with 7-to-9-year-olds from Germany

Iris Würbel , Freie Universität, Berlin

In this seminar visiting scholar Iris Würbel described the participative methodology used in her research on children’s daily lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, and presented some of the preliminary findings from the research. The study followed a qualitative participatory approach, based on “my day” maps depicting children's current everyday life; pictures of locations in their environment that are important to them; and online-interviews with the researcher. The sample included 14 seven- to nine-year old children and their families from Brandenburg (Germany), among them children from families with (and without) a monetary risk of poverty. Two key questions were addressed through her research: How do children of different social backgrounds perceive the COVID-19 pandemic? What is the role of social trust in their lives during the pandemic? In the course of the seminar Iris described the impact of the pandemic on children's sense of well-being and their coping strategies and resources including, for example, use of technology and listening to music. The presentation was followed by a lively Q&A with audience members. 

Iris Würbel is based in the Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität, Berlin. She is on a Teaching mobility visit to the School of Applied Social Studies at UCC during October 2021.

For more on this story contact:

Iris Würbel (iris.wuerbel@fuberlin.de)