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Inclusion: lessons from the children
Author(s) -
Jones Phyllis
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
british journal of special education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.349
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1467-8578
pISSN - 0952-3383
DOI - 10.1111/j.0952-3383.2005.00373.x
Subject(s) - inclusion (mineral) , general partnership , charter , pedagogy , sociology , special education , psychology , medical education , gender studies , medicine , political science , law
Phyllis Jones is assistant professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of South Florida. In this article, she describes the work she did while acting as consultant to an Early Years Childcare Development Partnership (EYCDP) in the north of England. Part of this process entailed developing a Charter for Inclusion for the Partnership. Phyllis Jones and her colleagues decided to draw upon the views of children and designed a picture booklet, with questions, in order to encourage a small group of children, aged between six and 14 years, to talk about inclusion. Parents or primary care workers worked through the booklet with the children, exploring what inclusion may mean for them from general and personal perspectives. A total of 14 booklets were returned, with responses exemplifying the strong contribution children are able to make, not only to the philosophical drive for greater inclusion, but also to our understanding of what helps and hinders inclusive practice. Phyllis Jones reviews those ideas here and also reflects on some of the methodological issues that arise when researching the views of children in innovative and imaginative ways.