Abstract:

In educational contexts, storytelling represents a pedagogical method that allows pupils to narrate their stories and teachers to recognize characteristics and potential in their narratives, fostering identity acceptance, especially in the presence of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Teachers need to capitalise this knowledge about their pupils, make the most of their expertise, in terms of reflexivity and agency, for the planning and implementation of inclusive school programmes and curricula. Stemming from these premises, this research aimed to investigate the degree of knowledge and awareness of the Life Stories narrative tool, as a device of inclusive training and design, from an appreciative perspective. This contribution focusses on the data that emerged from the initial phases of this exploratory study. A questionnaire was administered to 768 participants attending a specialisation course to obtain the warrant as Learning Support Teachers. Initial results show that the participants’ awareness and use of narratives is still not as common as one would hope when considering the benefits of such approach in promoting inclusive practices.

Keywords:

Inclusion, Storytelling, Appreciative Inquiry, Focus Group.