Broadening participation in Student Voice activity; co-producing knowledge of best practice with FE SEND student and staff teams.

在继续教育（FE）学院，与有特殊教育需求和/或残疾（SEND）学生打交道的工作人员发现，很难引出或“听到”有复杂沟通需求的学生的观点（NUS和Natspec， 2018）。这一领域缺乏可用的研究（Guldberg, 2020）对经历这一困难的员工没有任何帮助。这项研究将重点关注患有额外学习障碍的自闭症青少年/成年人的“声音”，他们有复杂的沟通需求，特别是在SEND FE设置中。记录学生观点的传统方法，如问卷调查，往往高度基于文本，因此需要熟练的从业者进行大量调整，以便更广泛的学生群体可以使用。目前在SEND FE学生发声的流行模式是学生会，但这些通常只吸引最善于表达和自信的学习者，因此可能不是听到所有SEND FE学习者“声音”的最佳工具。采用参与式行动研究方法，该研究将首先询问当前的模式和对SEND学生声音的理解：它们的范围（感知的、实际的和潜在的）、焦点、目的、适当性和可及性。研究人员与来自至少一个其他学院的学生/员工团队合作，旨在拓宽所获得的视角，形成并提出新的理论理解。它还应该为下一阶段的研究建立和加强必要的伙伴关系。研究的下一阶段将调查在学生作为研究人员（SaR）模式下建立独立的SEND FE学生/教职员工小组作为共同研究人员的可行性和适当性。鼓励小组设计自己的研究（与大学生活的任何元素有关），并积极参与（必要时提供支持）所有研究阶段。研究小组将需要评估和调整所使用的任何机制，并确定它们在用于不同个体/群体时的适当性。所选择的活动/机制（以及可访问的说明/评估）将与来自不同条款的至少一个其他参与SEND FE的学生/员工小组共享，并且作为回报，原始小组将获得一个新的活动机制进行试验和评估。在当代社会科学研究中使用的创造性研究方法，例如使用photovoice，增加了可访问性，从而将以前因智力残疾或沟通差异而被排除在外的个人纳入研究。这个想法激发了研究人员的决心，他们决定共同开发一种替代的、创造性的机制来听和记录“声音”，这对SEND FE的学生来说是有趣的、容易理解的和有意义的。这项研究的一个成果将是共同制定最佳实践框架，提供实用建议，使学生的声音能够在整个SEND FE中更有效地获取。此外，还将有一系列共同开发的、可利用的活动/机制，通过协作试验和评价，满足需要。研究问题：1；当前的模式和理解是什么？在FE中SEND学生的声音：它的范围（感知的，实际的和潜在的），焦点，目的，适当性和可及性？有哪些障碍和因素会影响到学生参与SEND FE的声音？3. 4.与SEND FE学生和员工团体共同生产知识的效果如何？在当前的SEND FE学生声音实践模式内（或外）建立支持学生作为研究人员（SaR）小组的可行性如何？5. 共同制作可访问的活动/机制以支持SEND FE学生声音实践的价值是什么？

Staff working with students who have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) in Further Education (FE) colleges find it difficult to elicit or 'hear' the views of students who have complex communication needs (NUS and Natspec, 2018). The lack of research available in this area (Guldberg, 2020) does nothing to support staff who experience this difficulty.This research study will focus on the 'voice' of autistic adolescents/adults with additional learning disabilities, who have complex communication needs, specifically within SEND FE settings. Traditional methods of recording student views, such as questionnaires, are often highly text-based and therefore in need of significant adaptation by skilled practitioners to be accessible to the broader student cohort. The current popular model for Student Voice in SEND FE is student councils, but these often only attract the most articulate and confident of learners, and so may not be the best vehicle to hear the 'voice' of all SEND FE learners.Using a participatory action research approach, the study will firstly interrogate current models and understandings of SEND student voice: their scope (perceived, actual and potential), focus, purpose, appropriacy and accessibility. Collaboration between the researcher and participating FE SEND student/staff teams from at least one other SEND FE college aims to widen the perspectives gained, shaping and bringing forward new theoretical understandings. It should also build and strengthen the necessary partnership/s for the next stage of the research.The next stage of the study will investigate the feasibility and appropriacy of establishing discrete SEND FE student/staff groups to work as co-researchers under a Students as Researchers (SaR) model. The groups will be encouraged to design their own research (pertaining to any element of college life), and be actively involved (with support, if necessary) in all research stages. The research group will need to evaluate and adapt any mechanisms used and determine their appropriacy when used with different individuals/ cohorts. The chosen activity/mechanism (along with accessible instructions/evaluations) will then be shared with at least one other participating SEND FE student/staff group from a different provision, and, in return, the original group will receive a new activity mechanism to trial and evaluate.Creative research methods used within contemporary social science research, for example the use of photovoice, have allowed for increased accessibility and therefore inclusion in research for individuals previously excluded due to their intellectual disabilities or communication differences. This idea inspired the researcher's determination to co-develop alternative and creative mechanisms for hearing and recording 'voice' which are fun, accessible and meaningful to SEND FE students.One output of this study will be a co-produced framework for best practice, providing practical recommendations for enabling student voice to be accessed more effectively across SEND FE. In addition, there will be a collection of co-developed, accessible activities/ mechanisms which, through collaborative experimentation and evaluation, are responsive to need.The research questions:1. What are the current models and understandings of SEND student voice in FE: its scope (perceived, actual and potential), focus, purpose, appropriacy and accessibility?2. What are the barriers and enablers affecting participation in SEND FE student voice? 3. What is the effect of co-producing knowledge with SEND FE student and staff groups?4. What is the feasibility of establishing supported Students as Researchers (SaR) groups within (or outside) the current models of SEND FE Student Voice practice? 5. What is the value of co-producing accessible activities/mechanisms to support SEND FE Student Voice practice?