The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Conversations with children: making sense of marginalization in primary school settings

Conversations with children: making sense of marginalization in primary school settings
Conversations with children: making sense of marginalization in primary school settings
This paper engages with the issue of marginalization, in relation to the notion of inclusive education, that might be experienced by children within primary school settings. The discussion draws on understandings gained through an ethnographic study that took place in one primary school in Cyprus, with 227 children enrolled (aged 5 years 8 months to 12 years) over the period of five months. Particular emphasis was given to the idea of listening to children in order to better understand notions of marginalization, and therefore of inclusive education. Hence children’s voices were at the centre of this study and, in particular, they played a significant role in the process of identifying pupils who were possibly experiencing marginalization in the particular school setting. A total of 31 children were identified as possibly experiencing marginalization. Through the process of carrying out the research and analysing the data, marginalization came to be conceptualized in four different ways within a primary school context: when a child is experiencing some kind of marginalization and this is recognized by almost everybody including himself/herself; when a child is feeling that he/she is experiencing marginalization, while most others do not recognize this; when a child is found in what appear to be marginalized situations but does not feel it, or does not view it as marginalization; and, finally, when a child is experiencing marginalization but does not admit it. It is argued that marginalization in school contexts is a complex, multifaceted process, and that educators should take this understanding into account in order to successfully include all children.

children, inclusive education, marginalization, primary education
0885-6257
39-54
Messiou, Kyriaki
6b3cb19d-a4de-4380-9326-80167b2dda7c
Messiou, Kyriaki
6b3cb19d-a4de-4380-9326-80167b2dda7c

Messiou, Kyriaki (2006) Conversations with children: making sense of marginalization in primary school settings. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 21 (1), 39-54. (doi:10.1080/08856250500491807).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This paper engages with the issue of marginalization, in relation to the notion of inclusive education, that might be experienced by children within primary school settings. The discussion draws on understandings gained through an ethnographic study that took place in one primary school in Cyprus, with 227 children enrolled (aged 5 years 8 months to 12 years) over the period of five months. Particular emphasis was given to the idea of listening to children in order to better understand notions of marginalization, and therefore of inclusive education. Hence children’s voices were at the centre of this study and, in particular, they played a significant role in the process of identifying pupils who were possibly experiencing marginalization in the particular school setting. A total of 31 children were identified as possibly experiencing marginalization. Through the process of carrying out the research and analysing the data, marginalization came to be conceptualized in four different ways within a primary school context: when a child is experiencing some kind of marginalization and this is recognized by almost everybody including himself/herself; when a child is feeling that he/she is experiencing marginalization, while most others do not recognize this; when a child is found in what appear to be marginalized situations but does not feel it, or does not view it as marginalization; and, finally, when a child is experiencing marginalization but does not admit it. It is argued that marginalization in school contexts is a complex, multifaceted process, and that educators should take this understanding into account in order to successfully include all children.

Text
__soton.ac.uk_ude_PersonalFiles_Users_km9g12_mydocuments_PDF folder_Messiou_EJSNE2006.pdf - Other
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy

More information

Published date: 2006
Keywords: children, inclusive education, marginalization, primary education

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 350807
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/350807
ISSN: 0885-6257
PURE UUID: d62bcd04-ee73-44dd-b607-c6a92a41ae74
ORCID for Kyriaki Messiou: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3412-3108

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 15 Apr 2013 12:35
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:45

Export record

Altmetrics

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×