Developing research that makes a difference: promoting inclusive and democratic schools Seminar

Using examples from my earlier work in England, Cyprus and five European countries, grounded theory approaches, ethnographic kind of studies and collaborative action research will be explored. Building on these earlier experiences, I will describe my current research with a network of schools in Southampton that employs collaborative action research and the use of a range of participatory activities. All of these studies have involved children, young people and teachers in schools as research participants.

I will argue that to achieve research that makes a difference in schools, we need to move beyond simple facilitation of active participation of those involved. Instead, we must focus on dialogues amongst participants that promote collaboration and have the potential to achieve sustainable transformation in schools.

Speaker information

Kyriaki (Kiki) Messiou is Professor of Education at the University of Southampton. She started her career as a primary school teacher before moving to academia. She is currently co-leading the Centre for Research in Inclusion and was Director of Research (2019- 2022) at Southampton Education School.

She is internationally known for her research in the field of inclusive education, focusing on children’s and young people’s voices, as well as dialogues between teachers and students as means of understanding marginalisation and developing inclusive thinking and practices in schools.

She led international research studies and she is the co-convenor of the World Educational Research Association International Research Network (WERA IRN) “Student Voice for Promoting Equity and Inclusion in Schools” in collaboration with Stanford University, Autonoma University of Madrid, Vic University and University of Lisbon.