Can child-friendly tools support young, autistic children to better communicate about their well-being to help inform school provision?

Rees, E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4334-7894 and Tissot, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9835-0903 (2023) Can child-friendly tools support young, autistic children to better communicate about their well-being to help inform school provision? Early Child Development and Care. ISSN 1476-8275 doi: 10.1080/03004430.2023.2247180

Abstract/Summary

Pupils' wellbeing in school can impact their learning, yet research into this topic is often from adults' perspectives. From a constructivist approach (where knowledge is shaped by human experience), the lack of child view on their well-being in schools is a significant gap in the literature, particularly from underrepresented groups including autistic pupils. This article is a small-scale case study with three child participants aged 7–8 years. To capture child voice, research tools were created by the participants followed by discussions to understand the student's intention. Two key themes emerged as important to well-being: social inclusion and school environment. This study demonstrates how child-created tools can be implemented in practice to truly ‘hear’ the voices of underrepresented groups. By empowering child voice in educational research, actions/implications for schools and their staff originate from the very individuals most affected, thus enabling child and school priorities to be better met.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/113062
Identification Number/DOI	10.1080/03004430.2023.2247180
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > Institute of Education > Improving Equity and Inclusion through Education
Publisher	Informa UK Limited
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