Search

Guidance and legislation in the UK suggest that it is becoming increasingly important to listen to the voices of pupils, to acknowledge their rights and to consult and collaborate with them in the development of personalised approaches to their education. In this article, Jackie Ravet, lecturer in inclusive practice at the University of Aberdeen, explores the methodological issues raised by a study of pupil perceptions of their disengagement in the primary classroom. She examines how an interpretative methodology was adapted to enable a group of eight- and nine-year-old primary school pupils to reflect upon their responses to learning and to express their interpretations, explanations and evaluations of their disengagement. Jackie Ravet's article details the array of interpretative methods used throughout her study with a particular focus upon a sequence of practical, activity-based interview formats designed to enable pupil communication and participation. This exposition is followed by a critique of the methodology and a discussion of its implications for research involving young children. The article closes with a call for pupils to be more effectively involved in reflecting upon the processes of participative research and in meaningful partnerships for school improvement. This article will be of interest to anyone seeking to enhance consultation and collaboration with pupils.

This paper is based upon the findings of an interpretative, school-based study of pupil, teacher and parent perceptions of disengagement within the primary classroom. It examines how pupil and parent perceptions support or challenge professional discourses about pupil behaviour, raising questions about the nature of disengagement and the intervention strategies used to manage it. The central finding of the study is that pupil, teacher and parent perceptions show a striking lack of intersubjectivity. Though there are some commonalities of perception between participants, most of these commonalities are shared by pupils and parents, rather than pupils and teachers. It is argued that the underlying lack of shared meaning between teachers and pupils skews classroom interaction and obfuscates teacher intervention, accounting for the poor relationships, and the breakdown of teaching and learning, in the classrooms observed. The explanatory concept of pupil and teacher "survival strategies" is used to explore this negative dynamic. (Contains 7 tables.)