Meaningful Participation – Motivating young people’s participation through play probes

Abstract

This paper explores the use of playful triggers when doing research with young people 14-17 years old, with the aim of providing a meaningful and mutual outcome, where both participants and the researchers gains value, this is done through Play Probes. As there seem to be a challenge when doing research with young people (Duncan, Drew, Hodgson & Sawyer, 2009) and there is a general agreement that young people are going through a complex period in their life (Kjeldgaard & Askegaard, 2006; Amit, 2001; Simonsen, 2003), this paper presents a take on how to provide a safe space for expression, for young people, that through playful triggers in the probe activities can intrinsically motivate young people to participate (Hektner and Csikzentmihalyi, 1996). 54 play probes have been filled out by young people from a Danish public school, and based on this, there are indications that the play probes can evoke motivation for participation, while also providing information to the researcher.