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“They’ll know loads more about me”. Facilitating self-expression through digital storytelling to support educational transitions

“They’ll know loads more about me”. Facilitating self-expression through digital storytelling to support educational transitions
“They’ll know loads more about me”. Facilitating self-expression through digital storytelling to support educational transitions

The views of children with special educational needs and disabilities are frequently left out of educational decision-making processes. In recent years, researchers have sought to employ creative methods to facilitate children's voices in areas of importance. One such area is transitions between educational settings, a significant time that has the potential for positive outcomes. One creative method of exploring children's views of transitions is Digital Stories, a strength-based video methodology. The aim of this research was to explore ways that Digital Stories can be used to facilitate children's voices at a time of transition. Interviews were conducted with three children and two members of staff at a pupil inclusion centre after they had cocreated Digital Stories. The research provided a new contribution to the literature on Digital Stories by exploring children's views of the process. Codebook thematic analysis resulted in four main themes: child as expert, self-expression, positive reflections and looking forward. Overall, children and staff were positive about the process of creating Digital Stories to support transition to new educational settings. Limitations, directions for future research and implications for professionals are discussed.

Digital Stories, child voice, education, educational transition, special educational needs and disabilities
0141-8211
Brinsmead, Sophie
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Deeley, Carys Elizabeth Rose
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Millington, Jessica Jane
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Pardoe, Laura Alice Elizabeth
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Kovshoff, Hanna
82c321ee-d151-40c5-8dde-281af59f2142
Wood-Downie, Henry
3ea6dda6-516f-4bc8-9854-186540fb30e0
Brinsmead, Sophie
57064a9e-93ef-46b0-bf82-7b42ea9f485e
Deeley, Carys Elizabeth Rose
925ffe1a-2fef-4683-8c0a-1dae685d5b77
Millington, Jessica Jane
d4c8d715-0ab8-42aa-b9f8-8c832828a817
Pardoe, Laura Alice Elizabeth
0d0e9e7a-56b4-4fa3-a39a-6b0bba3a2041
Kovshoff, Hanna
82c321ee-d151-40c5-8dde-281af59f2142
Wood-Downie, Henry
3ea6dda6-516f-4bc8-9854-186540fb30e0

Brinsmead, Sophie, Deeley, Carys Elizabeth Rose, Millington, Jessica Jane, Pardoe, Laura Alice Elizabeth, Kovshoff, Hanna and Wood-Downie, Henry (2025) “They’ll know loads more about me”. Facilitating self-expression through digital storytelling to support educational transitions. European Journal of Education, 60 (2), [e70058]. (doi:10.1111/ejed.70058).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The views of children with special educational needs and disabilities are frequently left out of educational decision-making processes. In recent years, researchers have sought to employ creative methods to facilitate children's voices in areas of importance. One such area is transitions between educational settings, a significant time that has the potential for positive outcomes. One creative method of exploring children's views of transitions is Digital Stories, a strength-based video methodology. The aim of this research was to explore ways that Digital Stories can be used to facilitate children's voices at a time of transition. Interviews were conducted with three children and two members of staff at a pupil inclusion centre after they had cocreated Digital Stories. The research provided a new contribution to the literature on Digital Stories by exploring children's views of the process. Codebook thematic analysis resulted in four main themes: child as expert, self-expression, positive reflections and looking forward. Overall, children and staff were positive about the process of creating Digital Stories to support transition to new educational settings. Limitations, directions for future research and implications for professionals are discussed.

Text
“They’ll Know Loads More About me”. Facilitating Self-Expression Through Digital Storytelling to Support Educational Transitions - Accepted Manuscript
Restricted to Repository staff only until 1 February 2027.
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 1 February 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 23 March 2025
Published date: June 2025
Keywords: Digital Stories, child voice, education, educational transition, special educational needs and disabilities

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 498734
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/498734
ISSN: 0141-8211
PURE UUID: 0b7257a9-3f71-4106-be59-8b52a1f104c7
ORCID for Sophie Brinsmead: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8877-8164
ORCID for Hanna Kovshoff: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6041-0376
ORCID for Henry Wood-Downie: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4965-7778

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Date deposited: 26 Feb 2025 17:30
Last modified: 21 Aug 2025 02:40

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Contributors

Author: Sophie Brinsmead ORCID iD
Author: Carys Elizabeth Rose Deeley
Author: Jessica Jane Millington
Author: Laura Alice Elizabeth Pardoe
Author: Hanna Kovshoff ORCID iD

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