The gendered attitudes of the pupils towards caring were out of step with what was actually happening in the local employment field. The momentum for change was already apparent in child-care, with male nursery nurses working in the area, and more coming through the training system. In care of the elderly, employers contacted said that although female staff were still in the majority, the situation was rapidly changing. Group interviews and focus groups were popular in market research before reaching social and educational research. Much of thinking about 'best practice' in interviewing children derives from the areas of social policy or the caring or legal professions where the focus is on the individual.
Ethics are, however, important regardless of context.