Ibali learning and networking event on inclusion

The Ibali project team has been researching inclusion from the perspectives of young people and teachers in Nigeria, South Africa, and the UK using a storytelling approach for the last two years. They organised a learning and networking event in December 2023 to engage with researchers and practitioners working in the educational inclusion space.

The event aimed to bring researchers and practitioners together to share ideas and connect over projects related to inclusion in education. Dr Alison Buckler – the principal investigator on the Ibali project, said, “We didn’t want today to be about formal presentations – rather we wanted to create spaces for people to talk and share and connect over ideas and projects – past, present and ones with potential.”

The discussions at the event delved into various inclusion issues, such as how the definition of inclusion can vary depending on contexts and the perspectives of young people on inclusion. Alison Buckler and Jennifer Agbaire (both from the CSGD) presented forthcoming work exploring how inclusive practices can be incorporated into research about inclusion. They acknowledged that while it's essential, it can be challenging to get it right, and as a community of researchers, we need to reflect more on this.

Here are some takeaways that the participants gained from the event.

There needs to be greater awareness of the relationship between intersectionality and inclusion. Dr Ayomide Oluseye, a lecturer at The Open University (OU) said, “There is limited awareness on intersectionality with regards to inclusion. Inclusion is often seen in single forms of gender, disability, sexual orientation etc.”

It is crucial to consider the individuals acknowledged and credited in research and publications. Basirat Rasaq-Shuaib, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, said, “It is important to think of inclusion in terms of who gets mentioned/acknowledged in our work as most times, researchers who collect the data and publish articles get the most benefits (scholarship recognition).”

All research can benefit from inclusive research processes. Coomerene Rodrigo, a PhD student at the OU, mentioned, “You don’t have to work in inclusion to adopt an inclusive research process.”

The event gave participants a deeper understanding of embedding inclusive practices into their research processes. They also gained insights into the importance of intersectionality and made new research connections.

23 February 2024