Voices And Visions From Ethnoculturally Diverse Young People With Disabilities

Many Canadian children from minority status groups experience long-term academic complexities, influencing their sense of school belonging and engagement. Research demonstrates children with intersecting differences of race, ethnicity, language, and disability, and those in their middle years (10–13 years old), undergo heightened academic challenges. Yet, what are children with disabilities’ personal schooling experiences, and how may these insights support inclusive learning, teaching, and sense of belonging? Within Toronto, one of the most diverse Canadian cities, this book explores the stories and experiences of six middle years children with intersecting differences of race, ethnicity, language, and disabilities (particularly autism). Through narrative and critical discourse analysis research methods the children’s views were accessed via a mosaic multi-method data collection approach, including their own photography, drawings, journal writings, imaginative story games, and interview texts. The children’s narratives illustrate their understandings of differences, learning, and inclusion. This book presents innovative insights highlighting the voices of children with disabilities as they navigate through complex issues of diversity and share how these impact their understandings and experiences of school inclusion and exclusion. The author advocates inviting the voices of children with intersecting differences into educational conversations and research processes, as they may adeptly advance areas of inclusion and diversity.

This volume of the Research in Global Child Advocacy Series explores participatory methodologies and tools that involve children in research. Perspectives on the role of children have transitioned from viewing children as objects of research, to children as subjects of research, to acknowledgement of children as competent contributors and agents throughout the inquiry process. Researchers continue to explore approaches that honor the capacity of children, drawing on diverse methodologies to elevate children’s voices and actively engage them in the production of knowledge. Nonetheless, despite these developments, questions over the extent to which children can be free of adult filters and influence merits sustained scholarly attention. The book includes chapters that critically examine methodological approaches that empower children in the research process. Contributions include empirical or practitioner pieces that operate from an empowerment paradigm and demonstrate the agenic capacity of children to contribute their perspectives and voices to our understanding of childhood and children’s lives. The text also features conceptual pieces that challenge existing theoretical frameworks, critique research paradigms, and analyze dilemmas or tensions related to ethics, policy and power relations in the research process.

Over the last three decades, a number of reforms have taken place in European social policy with an impact on the opportunities for persons with disabilities to be full and active members of society. The policy reforms have aimed to change the balance between citizens’ rights and duties and the opportunities to enjoy choice and autonomy, live in the community and participate in political decision-making processes of importance for one’s life. How do the reforms influence the opportunities to exercise Active Citizenship? This volume presents the findings from the first cross-national comparison of how persons with disabilities reflexively make their way through the world, pursuing their own interests and values. The volume considers how their experiences, views and aspirations regarding participation vary across Europe. Based on retrospective life-course interviews, the volume examines the scope for agency on the part of persons with disabilities, i.e. the extent to which men and women with disabilities are able to make choices and pursue lives they have reasons to value. Drawing on structuration theory and the capability approach, the volume investigates the opportunities for exercising Active Citizenship among men and women in nine European countries. The volume identifies the policy implications of a process-oriented and multi-dimensional approach to Active Citizenship in European disability policy. It will appeal to policymakers and policy officials, as well as to researchers and students of disability studies, comparative social policy, international disability law and qualitative research methods.

A comprehensive analysis and innovative, holistic interpretation of the child's right to development.