Mariagiulia Sardu
Winner of travel grant of DKK 30.000.
Play and education for all children: investigating the use of a play-based approach to support inclusion in schools, regardless of abilities
The Danish Folkeskole struggles to properly include children with different abilities in general classrooms, both from an educational and a social perspective. This creates obstacles to supporting all children’s right to learn and play together.
This project will involve collaborations with experts in play design, learning, Universal Design and inclusivity, and will be carried on with a child-centred approach. It will include visiting different institutions and conferences, to cover the topic from multidisciplinary perspectives and engage with different professionals and approaches. Students will be directly involved through workshops, so that children of all abilities can share their needs and their opinions on which play elements are most supportive of their participation in social and educational activities.
Mariagiulia plans to conduct her investigation at BARNkunne (Western University of Applied Science, Bergen), the PEDAL Group (Cambridge University) and Dream Networks Social Enterprise (UK). The investigation will be spread out during 2024, according to the dates of each specific project and conference.
Watch the pitch below.
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Mariagiulia Sardu
's investigation
Mariagiulia has started her investigation in the UK. Below you can read posts along the way from her journey where she describes the experiences she has had and what she has learned so far.
May 2024
London, England
I attended a workshop from Dream Networks about inclusive playful learning in a primary school. It was great, we visited a class with a relatively high percentage of students with different needs and that was involved throughout the entire process of this learning-through-play project. I met the children and observed first-hand the current results and methods. I was quite impressed with how well-engaged and interested they all were. Marie Williams (my contact from Dream Networks) will send me additional material on the previous steps to also get a better sense of how Universal Design values have been used during the earlier phases. I’m attaching a picture with her in front of the primary school we went to.
I also attended a International Symposium conference at University of Sussex which was a little different than I expected but still very interesting. I got in contact with two researchers/teachers working with using play for inclusive learning in schools. One of them presented how play activities can be used to create a safer and more inclusive environment for everybody in the classroom, while the other one focuses specifically on training teachers on how to utilise play in classrooms for neurodivergent children. I’ll have a more extensive chat with them in the following weeks to gain more details about their practice, but I already got some interesting insights from the conference.
I also got the opportunity to visit a British adventure playground (a few pictures are attached), which wasn’t part of the original plan but was recommended to me while I was in London. This particular place was suggested because of the inclusive approach of the staff, as they have a high percentage of children who are neurodivergent visiting, more than for the facility itself. For context: The playground has part-time opening hours and the parents bring the kids (various age groups) there and leave. They are watched by “playworkers” and it is also a space that offers after-school workshops and outdoor “classes”. I had a great chat with one of their playworkers about which methods they are successfully applying to create an inclusive atmosphere for everyone. She explained to me how their adaptive approach to all children’s needs is different and gave me some input on how it could potentially be applied to a more traditional classroom setting.
October 2024
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November 2024
Mariagiulia Sardu: It’s about finding a system where everybody can join in
By participating in workshops and conferences, speaking with experts, and visiting an adventure playground, Mariagiulia Sardu experienced how play can effectively support an inclusive school environment.
Main findings
“Play can be a way to introduce flexibility for learning in school. In the UK project ‘Playful Engineers: sustaining futures’, students were assigned to create a playground or outdoor space that multiple people could use. Not only was play used in the learning process, but it also became a motivation for the final outcome. The facilitator provided both physical and digital media, so every child could contribute in ways that were meaningful to their needs and abilities. When there are no right ways to achieve the goals, it allows the children to have agency and self-expression.
This idea was very well received among the children. Because children spend a lot of time with peers in school, it’s crucial to give them an inclusive mindset that exposes them to diversity.”
The use of Universal Design
“All the different projects I observed were not focusing on filling gaps for children with different needs. They focused on creating equal ways for everyone to achieve the goal. Universal Design is about finding a system where everybody can join without putting people in boxes.«
Why should others apply
“When I applied, I knew nothing about Universal Design, as this isn’t taught in most universities unless you work in the field.
But the good thing about the scholarship is its interdisciplinary nature. You don’t have to be a social designer or already work with disabilities to design in a universal way. And I believe integrating this mindset is important no matter what profession you come from.”