Concluding note from author
The promotion of attempts to recognise the right of children to express a view in matters that concern them is to be welcomed. Research endeavours that reflect this shift have devel- oped considerably in the last decade. In particular, there has been greater acknowledgment of the associated ethical issues and these are now being problematised, particularly through their use with populations (such as children with disabilities) who have unusual patterns or styles of communication and who may create unease in adults. Such developments are to be welcomed as leading to fuller accounts of phenomena we seek, as researchers and practitio- ners, to understand better.
However, the rush to hear such voices masks the danger of being insufficiently careful about how we go about hearing those voices and scrutinising not just methods but also methodo- logies. Listening better includes hearing silence and that silence is not neutral or empty. So listening better requires the researcher or evaluator to be reflexive and reflective in decoding the encounter. Through this, the interpretation of silence becomes an integral part of the analysis and, over time, could contribute to the development of methodologies of silence alongside methodologies of voice.
