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The Kids Are Alright: They Have Been Included for Years

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The Palgrave Handbook of Disabled Children’s Childhood Studies

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Abstract

In this chapter, I examine the roles and limitations to the incitement of voice in qualitative interviews in disabled children’s childhood studies. I argue that voice and experience are mediated concepts—both by life circumstances and the power relations between the researcher and participants present in interviews. To demonstrate my argument, I work through my experiences of interviewing a group of 23 young people with disabilities who attended secondary schools in Spain. Of the group, only roughly a third responded to any extent to questions I put to them. I suggest that interviews that might appear on the surface to be unrewarding might speak volumes in their silences. I conclude by reconceptualising the interview, in which I advance alternative ideas to the providence of voice in qualitative research.

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Acknowledgements

I want to thank each of the young people who participated in this phase of the research for their contribution to the project, no matter how large or small. In addition, I extend my sincere thanks to Cecilia Simon, Gerardo Echeita, and Soledad Rappoport from the Autonomous University of Madrid for supporting my access to the field, and translation as required. Finally, I want to thank the editors of this volume—Katherine, Tillie, and Kirsty—for their important work in this space, and for having supported my development of the chapter.

Note

I adopt person-first language as a personal preference; however, at the same time, the Department of Human Services in the Australian State Government of Victoria (where I reside) recommends professionals use person-first representations for consistency when discussing disability in public discourse (see http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/about-the-department/plans,-programs-and-projects/projects-and-initiatives/disability-services/reporting-it-right). For me, turning any condition—albeit race, colour, or creed—into an adjective that defines the person on the whole is to misappropriate their subjecthood.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia

    Ben Whitburn

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  1. Ben Whitburn
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The School of Education, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

    Katherine Runswick-Cole

  2. Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom

    Tillie Curran

  3. The School of Education, Sheffield, United Kingdom

    Kirsty Liddiard

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Whitburn, B. (2018). The Kids Are Alright: They Have Been Included for Years. In: Runswick-Cole, K., Curran, T., Liddiard, K. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Disabled Children’s Childhood Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54446-9_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54446-9_12

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-54445-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-54446-9

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