Kyriaki Messiou

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.

Understanding marginalisation in education: The voice of children

This paper illustrates how conversations with children can enhance thinking and practice in relation to the development of inclusive education. In particular, evidence from research carried out in a primary school in Cyprus is used to throw light on notions of marginalisation. The study suggests that marginalisation can be conceptualised in four ways: when a child is experiencing some kind of marginalisation that is recognised almost by everybody, including himself/herself; when a child is feeling that he/she is experiencing marginalisation, whereas others do not recognise this: when a child is found in what appears to be marginalised situations but does not view this as marginalisation; and, finally, when a child appears to experience marginalisation but does not recognise this. The paper concludes that children’s voices should not only be used as a strategy for understanding and developing more inclusive practices, but more importantly that listening to children is itself a manifestation of being inclusive.RésuméCet article illustre comment les conversations avec des enfants peuvent augmenter la pensée et la pratique par rapport au développement de l’éducation inclusive. En particulier, l’évidence de la recherche dans une école primaire en Chypre est employée pour jeter de la lumière sur des notions de marginalisation. L’étude suggère que la marginalisation puisse être conceptualisée de quatre manières: quand un enfant expérimente un genre de marginalisation qui est reconnue presque de tous, même par l’enfant lui-même; quand un enfant sent qu’il expérimente la marginalisation malgré que les autres ne le reconnaissent pas; quand un enfant se trouve dans ce que semblent être des situations marginalisées, mais il ne le ressent pas ou il ne le voit pas comme marginalisation; et, finalement, quand un enfant expérimente la marginalisation mais il ne l’admet pas. L’article conclut que les voix des enfants ne devront pas être utilisées uniquement comme une stratégie pour mieux comprendre et développer l’éducation inclusive, mais le plus important c’est que l’écoute des voix des enfants soit elle-même une manifestation d’être inclusive.

Marginalisation in Primary Schools: Listening to Children’s Voices

Following the theme begun in the previous article, Kyriaki Messiou asserts the right of children to be listened to as a key element in the progress and process of inclusion. Her research aimed to listen to what children had to say about marginalisation. She considers the methodological issues such a study raises.

Collaborating with children in exploring marginalisation: an approach to inclusive education

This article focuses on the importance of engaging with childrens voices in school settings in order to understand and deal with marginalisation. Engaging with the views of children and young people is an essential part of the process of developing inclusion. It can be viewed as an approach to inclusive education, which predominantly places emphasis on the views of the learners rather than on other organisational aspects within a school context. The study reported here is from a collaborative piece of research in one primary school classroom where practitioners, children and the researcher worked together in order to identify areas of concern within the particular context, in order to address marginalisation. The benefits, as well as the complexities of engaging in such processes are discussed. Furthermore, the study has led to the development of a framework for promoting inclusion that is presented here. The framework can be used to guide a systematic way of collecting evidence that will facilitate the process of understanding and dealing with marginalisation, and promoting inclusion, that can be incorporated into the daily work of practitioners.

Learning from differences: a strategy for teacher development in respect to student diversity

Drawing on evidence gathered as a result of collaborative action research carried out in 8 secondary schools in 3 European countries, this paper proposes an innovative strategy for helping teachers respond positively to learner diversity. The strategy merges the idea of lesson study with an emphasis on listening to the views of students. The research suggests that it is this latter emphasis that makes the difference as far as responding to learner diversity is concerned. It is this that brings a critical edge to the process that has the potential to challenge teachers to go beyond the sharing of existing practices in order to invent new possibilities for engaging students in their lessons. The paper also considers some of the difficulties involved in using this strategy.

Exploring Inclusive Practices in Primary Schools: Focusing on Children's Voices.

This paper reports a small-scale research project which took place in one primary school in the north-east of England. The study aimed to listen to children’s views about how the practices of teachers helped and/or hindered their sense of inclusion in classrooms. Inclusion was understood here in a broad sense rather than specifically relating to children with special educational needs. Participatory research tools were used as part of group interviews with children from three different year groups. Even though the children were mostly happy with their school experience, it was noticeable that there were some areas for concern for some children that related to four interconnecting themes: unfairness, shouting, loneliness and seating plans. All of these themes seemed to be connected with children’s interpersonal relationships – with teachers and with each other – and can be seen as crucial in terms of understanding inclusion in schools and further developing existing practices.

Research in the field of inclusive education: time for a rethink?

ABSTRACT This paper sets out to challenge thinking and practice amongst researchers in the field of inclusive education. It does this based on an analysis of published articles in the International Journal of Inclusive Education between 2005 and 2015, which identified topics and methodologies used in studies of inclusive education. The analysis highlights the fact that most of the studies are only concerned with certain groups of learners and that a limited number make use of collaborative, transformative approaches. It is argued that focusing only on some students, rather than on all, is contrary to the principles of inclusive education. At the same time, given the emphasis of inclusion on enabling the participation for all students, it is argued that more research needs to adopt collaborative approaches that set out to change thinking and practice in the field. Illustrative examples from articles that used such approaches are discussed to highlight their potential benefits.

The danger of subverting students’ views in schools

This paper is firmly grounded in the position that engaging with students’ voices in schools is central to the development of inclusive practices. It explores the tensions that can be created when efforts are made to engage with students’ voices in relation to their experiences of learning and teaching. An example from a three-year research and development project, which worked alongside teachers to use students’ voices as a way of developing inclusive practices, is used to illustrate these tensions. This project, though showing that students’ voices can be a powerful means for understanding learning and teaching in schools, also encountered challenges with these processes. This paper focuses on the experiences of one secondary school which (possibly inadvertently) subverted and undermined students’ voice initiatives and explores the potential negative impacts of this on individual students, on students as a whole, and on teacher development. By doing this, suggestions as to how such tensions can be avoided in schools are offered, with the aim being to allow a genuine engagement with the views of students.

A Peer-Mentoring Scheme for Immigrant Students in English Secondary Schools: A Support Mechanism for Promoting Inclusion?.

ABSTRACT Immigration in Europe has increased rapidly over the last years. As a result, schools are accepting students arriving from other countries at various stages of the school year. This can be a challenging process both for students and for schools. This paper describes the introduction of a peer-mentoring scheme to support immigrant students in three English schools, which took part in a European Union funded project that involved five countries. Data from semi-structured interviews with mentors, mentees and facilitators were analysed and highlighted a number of positive impacts, such as getting support from mentors, making new friends and increased confidence both for mentors and mentees. However, it seems that the way that the programme was implemented in the English schools, focused only on the individual students, rather than having an impact on the whole school. The implications of such an approach in relation to inclusion are discussed.

Understanding marginalisation through dialogue: a strategy for promoting the inclusion of all students in schools

Abstract This paper examines how marginalisation of students in schools can be understood and addressed. Usually the term marginalisation is associated with existing categories, which mostly relate to policy formulations, and shape teachers’ expectations of these groups as well as their practices. Using examples from the author’s research, it is argued that a focus on the views of students can facilitate an understanding of marginalisation as a broader concept that might be experienced by any student in school. In addition, the paper proposes an alternative approach, one that involves dialogue with students in order to challenge thinking that associates marginalisation with existing categories. Illustrative examples are used to demonstrate how such thinking can ensure the development of more inclusive thinking and practices that take account of all students.