Why Should Children Learn How to Do Research?
Parents often ask this question.  With all the skills and content to be learned, why should precious class time be devoted to research, they wonder.  After all, isn’t research something that is learned at the university or on the job?

Many benefits can be derived from doing research.  The most obvious, of course, is that it prepares children for tasks that they will face in college and on the job.  By engaging in research, students will learn to analyze problems, develop critical thinking skills, and think creatively.  These are skills that will help them later in life.

But engaging students in meaningful research has other benefits that may not be immediately apparent. Studies have shown that students who participate in research activities become better organized and more independent learners. Through the process of collecting and analyzing data, they learn the importance of being systematic. Their self-confidence also grows as a result of these experiences.

There is another benefit that comes from learning how to do research. By examining issues and topics that are important to them and their communities, children actually create new knowledge.  This rarely happens in the traditional curriculum. Children are experts on their own lives and uniquely qualified to investigate issues pertaining to them. By teaching them the tools of research, we actually empower them to explore issues that matter to them and seek solutions.

In the past few years, several projects have been started to guide and support children’s research.  Listed below are links to three examples.

Children’s Research Centre
The Children’s Research Centre, affiliated with Open University in the UK, is dedicated to empowering young people to investigate issues important to them.  Dr. Mary Kellett, Director of the Centre, is a visiting professor and consultant to the Education Institute’s Research Skills Development Project.  Plans call for adding a section to this Website to share and celebrate the research of Qatar students.

What Kids Can Do
What Kids Can Do is a U.S. non-profit organization created in 2001 to give adolescents the tools they need to investigate important issues in their own communities. In 2006, they expanded their activities to include student researchers from around the world. This Website contains many examples of the research that students have done.

International Education and Resources Network
iEARN is a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging project-based learning and international collaboration among teachers and students in 120 countries. Reach Out to Asia (ROTA), part of the Qatar Foundation, has recently become the sponsor of iEARN in Qatar.  Teachers from five Independent Schools are participating in pilot projects this spring with plans to expand opportunities to all Qatar schools next year.