Children's Voice and School Improvement: The Role of Technology in the Inclusive School of the Future

The purpose of the study is to indicate the importance of inclusive education. The term “Inclusive education” means that different and diverse students are learning side by side in the same classroom. This study focuses... [ view full abstract ]

The purpose of the study is to indicate the importance of inclusive education. The term “Inclusive education” means that different and diverse students are learning side by side in the same classroom. This study focuses on the need that the student's voice should be heard and considered during educational planning. By doing this, the study intends to detect which students are marginalized, socially and academically, and use this method towards the improvement of the school unit. As a result of this study, technology is recognized as the basic tool for more pluralistic learning. The research was conducted in two kindergarten schools, a private and a public one. In the first, twenty-two students and two teachers (kindergarten teacher and headmistress) were interviewed, while in the second, we used the method of non-participant observation on five children attending the integration class, during a month. Interviews were conducted in the public school too, only to two teachers (qualified pedagogue and headmistress). Firstly, through interviews and the method of non-participant observation, marginalized students are identified due to the difficulties they face, both within the classroom and outside. Next, we have managed to strengthen the children's confidence and help create a more empathetic school environment, via focusing on the uniqueness of each child in particular, as a part of a system (inclusion philosophy). These are implemented, through a school Project in which students narrate their personal stories using digital storytelling software (we utilized excerpts of the interviews, while after the production of the stories, the educators presented them to students who shared their feelings with us). Our aim was, also to encourage the creation of stories, for all educational stages, for the production of which, the Scratch digital storytelling software was used.

Keywords: children's voice, inclusive education, improvement of the school unit, digital storytelling.