Engaging with students’ voices: using a framework for addressing marginalisation in schools

Abstract

This paper focuses on the importance of engaging with students’ voices in order to understand and address marginalisation in schools. Using illustrative examples from research conducted in schools, the aim is to demonstrate how through the use of a framework, issues related to marginalisation can be addressed in schools and, in so doing, facilitate inclusion. The process of using the framework will be described and the paper will conclude with a discussion about how marginalisation can be addressed in schools from three perspectives: first, by taking specific actions regarding individual students, or in relation to issues that create barriers to student participation; secondly, by engaging with all students’ voices; and thirdly, by focusing on the involvement of ‘forgotten groups of learners’ in the process of data collection and analysis.