The effort to understand children and their developmental processes has brought about the inclusion of children in research across various branches of science for many years. However, historical and scientific changes in the perception of childhood clearly emphasize the need to rapidly move away from the traditional perspective that views children merely as objects from which data is collected. New and contemporary approaches acknowledge that children are also subjects, social actors, and active participants in research. International ethical codes, primarily the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, mandate respect for the dignity, rights, and well-being of children. While international guidelines such as ERIC and EECERA guide researchers on fundamental principles; this article, authored by Child Development Specialist Hasip Tekin and Assist. Prof. Pelin Pekince and published in the Turkish Journal of Educational Sciences, 2026, Volume 24, Issue 1, thoroughly examines ethical practices in the academic field.

The current research was conducted using a case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, and postgraduate theses published between 2014 and 2024 in the database of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) National Thesis Center were meticulously examined through content analysis. As a result of the screening, out of 829 postgraduate theses accessed using the keyword "child development," 393 theses in which children aged 0-18 were direct participants were subjected to in-depth evaluation. These examined academic studies were analyzed in detail in light of universal categories such as whether informed consent was obtained from parents and children, whether potential risks and harms were anticipated, the protection of privacy, and the status of institutional ethics committee approvals. To increase the reliability of the data, researcher triangulation was utilized, and highly objective examinations were carried out in line with the opinions of experts from different fields.

The findings obtained from the research clearly demonstrate a pressing need for serious self-criticism regarding children's participation rights and consent processes in the academic field. Although it is a fundamental ethical rule, it was determined that a clear statement regarding the principle of best interest and zero harm was made in only 2.29 percent of the examined theses. When it comes to the decision to participate in research, informed family consent obtained from parents was 59.54 percent, while it is quite striking that informed child consent obtained from the children, the actual actors of the study, remained at only 15.78 percent. This striking statistic indicates that children are not seen as competent enough to express their opinions adequately, even in research about themselves, and are predominantly positioned merely as a data source. On the other hand, while it is promising that the principle of privacy of personal life was adhered to in 90.08 percent of the theses, it was determined that in the 9.92 percent segment where the privacy principle was violated, the identity information or photographs of the children were openly shared without anonymization. Additionally, the rate of studies presenting a clear declaration of compliance with ethical principles throughout the thesis was found to be at the level of 68.19 percent.

Consequently, this detailed content analysis proves with concrete data that ethical awareness in academic studies conducted with children still needs to be strengthened and structured at the institutional level. It should never be forgotten that children are right-holding subjects capable of taking initiative, giving consent, or opposing a situation depending on their age groups. In line with the recommendations the study offers to researchers and institutions; it is highly necessary to provide mandatory courses on the ethics of child research in the postgraduate education programs of universities. Furthermore, it is strongly recommended that researchers use age-appropriate, transparent, play-based icebreaker activities when obtaining participation consent from children, and that child-focused expert academicians are mandatorily included in ethics committees. We thank researchers Child Development Specialist Hasip Tekin and Assist. Prof. Pelin Pekince for this valuable study, which offers the field a serious opportunity for confrontation and makes a significant contribution to methodological and ethical awareness. You can access the full article via www.doi.org/10.37217/tebd.1763911