Using participatory and inclusive methodologies to explore inclusive education in Africa

This paper presents researchers' experiences using participatory, inclusive research methodologies to explore aspects of inclusive education, with children with disabilities, parents, and teachers in Nigeria and Kenya.

The objective is to describe working with children and adults with disabilities, as research collaborators, alongside local INGO staff and OPD partners.

In Kenya we worked with 9 peer researchers with disabilities to run focus groups and interviews with children with disabilities, parents and teachers about inclusive pre-school education. In Nigeria we ran participatory workshops with children with disabilities, and their parents discussing what makes school and community settings inclusive, to inform the design of a Wellbeing and Inclusion checklist. The studies were based in pilot primary schools and Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE or pre-school) classes in Nigeria and Kenya respectively. The data produced were recordings and notes from focus group discussions, interviews and activities and reflections from the peer researchers. Data analysis was an inclusive participatory process of thematic analysis carried out in person and online.

These innovative approaches demonstrate that with careful planning and support, both adults and children with disabilities can be involved very directly in research processes not just as participants but as researchers.

We argue that using participatory, disability-inclusive approaches helps to make the findings more nuanced and genuine and the data and outputs generated uniquely grounded in people's realities and perspectives.

These methods can potentially inform the mainstreaming of a disability inclusion approach into international development debates and activities.