The missing voices: students as a catalyst for promoting inclusive education
The missing voices: students as a catalyst for promoting inclusive education
Despite the progress that has been made over the 25 years since the Salamanca Statement, there is still room for improvements in order that schools can be developed that include all students. Drawing on a programme of research carried out over a period of 20 years in various European countries, this paper argues that children and young people themselves should have a central role in informing thinking, policies and practices in education. Although this is in line with the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, their views continue to be largely absent from important discussions that directly affect them. Using examples from two interconnected studies, this paper illustrates how students can be a catalyst for inclusive development, provided their views are heard and acted upon. In so doing, it describes the evolution of the author’s thinking, as the research moved beyond an initial focus on students’ voices as relating to conversations with students, towards a much more radical approach that seeks to promote dialogue about learning and teaching amongst students and teachers. This move is seen to involve a cultural change which, in itself, is a manifestation of a commitment to inclusion as a principled approach to education.
dialogue, students’ voices, inclusive education
Messiou, Kyriaki
6b3cb19d-a4de-4380-9326-80167b2dda7c
Messiou, Kyriaki
6b3cb19d-a4de-4380-9326-80167b2dda7c
Messiou, Kyriaki
(2019)
The missing voices: students as a catalyst for promoting inclusive education.
International Journal of Inclusive Education.
(doi:10.1080/13603116.2019.1623326).
Abstract
Despite the progress that has been made over the 25 years since the Salamanca Statement, there is still room for improvements in order that schools can be developed that include all students. Drawing on a programme of research carried out over a period of 20 years in various European countries, this paper argues that children and young people themselves should have a central role in informing thinking, policies and practices in education. Although this is in line with the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, their views continue to be largely absent from important discussions that directly affect them. Using examples from two interconnected studies, this paper illustrates how students can be a catalyst for inclusive development, provided their views are heard and acted upon. In so doing, it describes the evolution of the author’s thinking, as the research moved beyond an initial focus on students’ voices as relating to conversations with students, towards a much more radical approach that seeks to promote dialogue about learning and teaching amongst students and teachers. This move is seen to involve a cultural change which, in itself, is a manifestation of a commitment to inclusion as a principled approach to education.
Text
Messiou_IJIE_SalamancaSpecialIssue
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 21 May 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 10 June 2019
Keywords:
dialogue, students’ voices, inclusive education
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 431725
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/431725
ISSN: 1360-3116
PURE UUID: bb973809-c95b-4026-a7fc-55ff615ca1e9
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Date deposited: 14 Jun 2019 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 07:56
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