Abstract:

Storytelling is considered to be an effective method for transmitting experiences and knowledge in different contexts, especially in the education system. Numerous studies show that oral storytelling enhances the acquisition of information, but also that it improves children's language skills, contributes to emotional maturity and the development of empathy, enhances the sense of identity, imagination and creativity. Considering that it is also an event that assumes a minimum of two actors (narrator and recipient), oral storytelling that is performed continuously among the same participants contains the potential for long-term creation of socio-emotional ties and strengthening of feelings of closeness and attachment. The goal of this research is to determine whether participatory storytelling can function as an effective inclusive practice for members of a vulnerable group, specifically for children with developmental disabilities. For the purpose of the research, ethnographic methods of observation and small discussion groups were used, as well as inductive interview analysis in five steps and synthesis. The respondents were a group of students who attend the regular school program of the Krapinske Toplice Elementary School and were involved in a project in cooperation with the Center for Special Education Krapinske Toplice, a school for students with developmental disabilities. The goal of the project was the social inclusion of students with developmental disabilities through the participatory telling of fictional stories based on data from local history. The initial measurement for the research was carried out before the start of the project, during the first discussion group, while the final measurement point was the second small discussion group carried out after it’s finalization. The results of the research show a positive change in opinions and reduction of prejudices towards students with developmental disabilities among students attending the regular elementary school program, and that a sense of closeness and friendship was created among the students involved. Although the sample on which the research was conducted is purposive and small so the results obtained should be viewed at the level of the sample and without generalization, this research can provide deeper insight about participatory storytelling as an effective method for including children who belong to vulnerable groups in the peer culture of their community and a method that is compatible with the goals of inclusive education in general. Finally, considering that the convergence of storytelling and inclusion in its effects has not yet been sufficiently investigated, this paper can serve as an incentive for further research on the possibilities of the collaborative narration in the context of social inclusion of children with disabilities.

Keywords:

Collaboration, elementary education, inclusive education, storytelling method, qualitative research.