The power of ‘research conversations’ in analysing and interpreting the views and perspectives of children identified with SEND

The use of multi-sensory data collection tools with children in special and inclusive education is increasing in popularity. Many studies in this area have highlighted the potential for photography, drawings and other visual data collection methods to capture children's perspectives on inclusive practice. However, these tools are likely to be less successful in generating accurate findings if the data arising from them are not effectively interpreted by the researcher. There is a need to highlight appropriate ways to involve child participants as collaborators throughout the research process, with the aim of better accessing the understandings contained in multi-sensory data collected from children as participants. This paper presents and explores the findings from an empirical participatory study, piloting a multi-sensory research approach involving children identified with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) in an English primary school. ‘Research conversations’ were found to be a highly appropriate way of ensuring that important multi-perspective understandings contained in visual forms of data are better accessed by the researcher, highlighting the importance of involving child participants as collaborators in an iterative analysis process.