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

与继续教育（FE）学院中有特殊教育需求和/或残疾（SEND）的学生一起工作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意见（NUS和Natspec，2018）。在这一领域缺乏研究（Guldberg，2020）没有做任何支持工作人员谁经历这种困难。这项研究将集中在自闭症青少年/成人的“声音”有额外的学习障碍，谁有复杂的沟通需求，特别是在SEND FE设置。记录学生意见的传统方法，如问卷，往往是高度文本化的，因此需要熟练的从业人员进行重大调整，以便更广泛的学生群体能够使用。目前在SEND FE中流行的学生声音模型是学生会，但这些通常只吸引最善于表达和最自信的学习者，因此可能不是听到所有SEND FE学习者的“声音”的最佳载体。本研究使用参与式行动研究方法，首先询问当前SEND学生声音的模型和理解：它们的范围（感知的、实际的和潜在的）、重点、目的、适当性和可及性。研究人员和参与FE SEND学生/工作人员团队之间的合作，从至少一个其他SEND FE学院的目的是扩大获得的观点，塑造和提出新的理论认识。研究的下一阶段将探讨在学生即研究人员（SaR）模式下，成立独立的SEND FE学生/教职员小组作为共同研究人员的可行性和适当性。将鼓励各团体设计自己的研究（涉及大学生活的任何元素），并积极参与（支持，如有必要）在所有研究阶段。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人/群体时的适当性。选定的活动/机制（沿着可访问的说明/评估）然后将与至少一个其他参与SEND FE的学生/工作人员团体从不同的规定，并作为回报，原组将收到一个新的活动机制，以试验和评估。当代社会科学研究中使用的创造性研究方法，例如使用photovoice，这使得以前因智力残疾或沟通差异而被排除在外的个人能够更容易地获得信息，从而被纳入研究。这一想法激发了研究人员的决心，共同开发替代和创造性的机制，用于聆听和记录“声音”，这对SEND FE学生来说是有趣的，可访问的和有意义的。本研究的一个成果将是共同制作的最佳实践框架，为使学生的声音能够更有效地在SEND FE中访问提供实用的建议。此外，还将收集一系列共同开发的、可利用的活动/机制，这些活动/机制通过合作试验和评估，对需求作出反应。目前在FE中SEND学生声音的模型和理解是什么：其范围（感知的，实际的和潜在的），重点，目的，适当性和可访问性？2.影响SEND FE学生声音参与的障碍和推动因素是什么？3.与SEND FE学生和员工团体共同生产知识的效果是什么？4.在SEND FE学生声音实践的当前模型内（或外）建立受支持的学生作为研究人员（SaR）小组的可行性是什么？5.共同制作无障碍活动/机制以支持SEND FE学生之声实践的价值是什么？

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?