Illuminating young children's perceived notions of inclusion in pedagogical activities

ABSTRACT

This paper presents findings from a research study, which sought to illuminate the perceived notions of inclusion of four to five year old children in pedagogical activities, in the early years classes of two schools in the North of England. It employed a qualitative methodology to gather extensive data with forty children over a six-week period in each school. This included collecting fieldnotes; undertaking observations of children in pedagogical activities; and conducting group and individual interviews. Central to the research aim was the use of participative tools to engage with children's voices; these included photographs and drawings. Children's perceived notions of inclusion resonated with two dimensions: belonging and relationships (with practitioner and/or child) and democratic pedagogies. The findings advance the conceptualisation of the notion of inclusion and bring to the fore the voices of a young group of children that has not been studied before. Engaging with children in meaningful ways can enable practitioners to better understand young children's perceived, multi-faceted notions of inclusion as they experience it within pedagogical activities.

KEYWORDS:

• Engaging with voices
• early years
• inclusion
• belonging and relationships
• democratic pedagogies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Patricia A. Shaw is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Hull, UK, where her key areas of interest are engaging with children’s voices, inclusion and participation.

Kyriaki Messiou is Associate Professor in Education at the University of Southampton. Her research interests focus on inclusive education, students’ voices, and participation and marginalisation in school.

Chronoula Voutsina is a Lecturer at the University of Southampton. She completed a degree in Early Years Education at the University of Patras, Greece, a DEA (Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies) in Systems of Learning and Evaluation at the University of Aix-Marseile -I, France and her PhD in Mathematics Education at the University of Southampton, UK. Her research interests include young children’s learning and development in pre-school and early primary school education and the development and understanding of early mathematics concepts.