Students’ voices for promoting inclusion: An insight into perspectives and practices across diverse contexts

This symposium draws together insights gained from three studies, which explore students’ voices in relation to inclusion. Students’ voices and inclusive education are interconnected ideas (Messiou, 2019). The focus of all three studies is underpinned by a broad notion of inclusive education as “a process that helps overcome barriers limiting the presence, participation and achievement of learners” (pp. 10, UNESCO, 2021). ‘Students’ voices’ alludes to a range of approaches from students’ expression of views to their active participation in decision making processes (Cook-Sather, 2006). Through research conducted across different educational settings, this symposium aims to illustrate how voice is dynamically shaped by and within the contexts (Messiou, 2023). The theme that frames the symposium is – How is the concept of students’ voices interpreted and implemented across different global contexts, to promote inclusion? Amplifying Disabled Students’ Voices: Insights from a Systematic Literature Review Federica Festa; Alice Di Leva; Luca Angelone; Rosa Bellacicco; Cecilia Marchisio, University of Turin, Italy International frameworks on inclusive education highlight the imperative of engaging students in shaping their educational experiences (Cook-Sather, 2006). However, persistent gaps remains between policy rhetoric and the lived realities of disabled students, whose voices are often marginalised in decision-making processes within schools (Porter, 2009). Student Voice is increasingly recognised not just as a pedagogical tool, but as a social justice imperative (Messiou, 2023). This study presents findings from a systematic literature review, examining how Student Voice initiatives engage disabled students across global educational contexts from primary to higher education. Preliminary results from 47 studies indicate dominance of speech-centric methodologies, which inherently exclude those relying on alternative forms of communication (Grace et al., 2024). While visual and multimodal methods offer promising alternatives (Thomson, 2008), they remain underutilised and often fail to drive structural and institutional changes (Lewis-Dagnell et al., 2021). Our findings emphasise the need for participatory frameworks that centre diverse communicative strategies, enabling Student Voice to move beyond the stage of being heard and to contribute more effectively to educational equity and systemic change. Understanding Mainstream Teachers’ Practices for Promoting Inclusion in Primary Classrooms in China: Listening to Students Ping Dong, Kyriaki Messiou, Charis Voutsina, University of Southampton, UK This paper presents findings from multiple case studies of seven teachers in three mainstream primary schools in a south-central city of China, exploring classroom practices to promote participation for all students, incorporating both teacher and student perspectives. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with seven teachers, classroom observations, and student focus groups with 45 students (ages 6-12) from diverse backgrounds. Student voice approaches such as photo-elicitation interviews, ranking activities, and drawing (Clark-Ibáñez, 2004; Thomson, 2008) were employed to explore students’ views on their teachers’ practices. Data were analysed thematically. Findings indicate that teachers’ practices varied based on how they perceived and responded to student diversity. Students highlighted that some of these practices enhanced their participation through lesson enjoyment, motivation, and knowledge acquisition, but also noted how others, created barriers to their participation through inaccessibility, unequal participation opportunities, and limited interaction. The study underscores the importance of listening to students’ views, not only for research but also as a key part of developing further inclusive practice. Engaging with students as partners in schools in India: A step towards co-developing inclusive school contexts Chinmaya Potnis, Kyriaki Messiou, Achala Gupta, University of Southampton, UK This paper discusses insights gained through a study guided by the overarching question – How can schools engage with students as partners to promote inclusion? Inclusion, within this study, is understood as a broad concept concerned with all children. A range of participatory tools in conjunction with Participatory Action Research approaches (Kemmis and McTaggart, 2007) were used to generate data from, with and by a team of 6 students and 2 teachers as co-researchers, in the secondary grades (ages 13-16) of two government schools in western India. Data analysis was interwoven with data generation, alongside the co-researchers, and then followed by inductive thematic analysis to develop the broad findings. Through illustrative examples of tensions or paradoxes within the schools’ contexts, contextual barriers, opportunities and pathways to youth-adult partnerships are explored. Findings suggest that in order to foster and sustain inclusive school contexts, it is both vital and viable to embed meaningful partnerships, wherein students are agentic and active partners. Based on the findings, I argue that there is a need to institutionalise and legitimise students’ role as partners, not as an additional initiative, but as a pervasive and non-negotiable approach to how schools are designed. References – Cook-Sather, A. (2006). Sound, presence, and power: “student voice” in educational research and reform. Curriculum Inquiry. 36 (4), pp. 359–390. Clark-Ibáñez, M. (2004). Framing the social world with photo-elicitation interviews. American Behavioral Scientist, 47(12), pp. 1507–1527 Grace, J., Nind, M., de Haas, C., & Hope, J. (2024). Expanding possibilities for inclusive research: Learning from people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities and decolonising research. Social Sciences, 13(1), 37. Kemmis, S. and McTaggart, R. (2007) 'Participatory Action Research: Communicative action and the public sphere', The Sage handbook of qualitative research, 3, 559–603. Lewis-Dagnell, S. A. C., Parsons, S., & Kovshoff, H. (2023). Creative methods developed to facilitate the voices of children and young people with complex needs about their education: a systematic review and conceptual analysis of ‘voice’. Educational Research Review, 39. Messiou, K. (2019) The missing voices: students as a catalyst for promoting inclusive education, International Journal of Inclusive Education. 23:7-8, 768–781, Messiou, K. (2023). The role of students’ voices in promoting inclusive education. In: Tierney, R.J., Rizvi, F., Erkican, K. (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education, vol. 9. Elsevier. Porter, J. (2009). Missing out? Challenges to hearing the views of all children on the barriers and supports to learning. Education 3–13, 37(4), 349-360. Thomson, P. (2008). Doing visual research with children and young people. Routledge. UNESCO (2021) Reaching out to All Learners: A Resource Pack for Supporting Inclusion and Equity in Education. Geneva: UNESCO.