Area (2001) 33.2, 141–152 Adapting visual methods: action research with Kampala street children Lorraine Young and Hazel Barrett Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, Brunel University, Uxbridge UB8 3PH and Geography Subject Group, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB Emails: Lorraine.Young@brunel.ac.uk and h.barrett@coventry.ac.uk Revised manuscript received 11 July 2000 The paper examines the use of four visual ‘action’ methods for eliciting information from street children about their interactions with the socio-spatial environment. These methods were adapted and used to encourage child-led activities and minimize researcher input. The advantages and constraints associated with the successful implementation of visual methods with children are examined, followed by a brief examination of the ‘real’ and ethical considerations surrounding their use. The paper concludes that visual methods allow a high level of child-led participation in research, as well as providing a stimulus for eliciting further oral material. Key words: Uganda, child-centred research, street children, visual methods Introductuion Following on from Arie` s’ (1962) work, childhood has become recognized as socially, rather than biologi- cally, constructed. Social science research now con- siders children as active, valuable contributors and members of society (Holloway and Valentine 2000; James et al. 1998; James and Prout 1990; Jenks 1996). Holloway and Valentine (2000) recognize that there are two important elements of the new social studies of childhood that are particularly rel- evant to geographers. First, if childhood is socially constructed, then children must be considered as ‘meaning-producing beings’ in their own right and second, childhood must be a culturally diverse experience for individual children growing up in different societies. Based on this recognition that children are import- ant social actors, researchers within the geographical discipline are now calling for more research on ‘children as a neglected social grouping undergoing various forms of socio-spatial marginalization’ (Matthews and Limb 1999, 62). At the same time there is the need to acknowledge the importance of ‘multiple childhoods’ and the difference in both their social and spatial constructions (Matthews and Limb 1999). A large amount of substantive and informa- tive research has been undertaken in a Western context on the socio-spatial behaviour of children and their marginalization from adult society (Matthews 1992; Sibley 1995; Skelton and Valentine 1997; Valentine 1996a 1996b 1997). Much less work has been done on the ‘special position of exclusion’ (Matthews et al. 1999, 135) of children in developing countries. The street child population is a particularly interesting facet of multiple childhoods and marginalization because they are creating their own spaces within an inherently adult domain, that is the city. Furthermore, there is a culmination of factors that affect their spatial presence; they are excluded from public social and spatial environs due to their status as minors; and they are marginalized in society due to their deviant characteristics and homeless status. Their public existence on the streets is, therefore, producing a particular ‘street childhood’ with associated ‘street child spaces’, many of which are hidden and separate from the adult city. Although street children are recognized through- out the developing world, they have recently become more prevalent in African cities. This is the ISSN 0004-0894  Royal Geographical Society (with The Institute of British Geographers) 2001