“Student Voice: uno strumento per raccogliere il punto di vista degli alunni con Sindrome di Down sull’integrazione scolastica”

Abstract

The Student Voice approach in educational research simples listening to students and taking into account their opinions in order to consider their points of view in research and in changes for education policies. In the field of inclusive education this issue is particularly relevant as it makes research methods more participative and inclusive. It is also a very demanding because it requires data collection instruments that can give voice to all students –also students with disabilities- in a reliable way.
In this research project a digital instrument for interviewing in structured way students with intellectual disabilities and communication difficulties has been developed. The instrument was created and tested with the collaboration of the Italian Association of Persons with Down Syndrome and experts in the field of Augmentative and Alternative Communication. The interview has been conceived on 4 different levels that can be chosen according to the students‘ intellectual and communicative abilities. On the first level the student works autonomously and answers open questions; on the fourth level a teacher guides him through multiple choice questions represented through images and symbols. The investigated topics are: activities in class, push and pull out and socialization within and outside school. The article describes the way the instrument has been created and tested.