Hvordan gør vi os selv overflødige? Børne- og ungeinddragelse på specialskolen Marielund

Designerne fra Designskolen Kolding vil gennem observationer på Marielund og en række workshops for elever, forældre og medarbejdere, udvikle en model for, hvordan eleverne bliver bedre til at sætte ord på tanker og følelser og dermed i større grad kan inddrages i skolens hverdag og opleve at blive hørt. Til brug i modellen udvikles praktiske værktøjer, der kan facilitere inddragelsen af børnene. Værktøjerne skal passe ind i skolens hverdag og fungere for både elever og voksne.

Projektets titel stammer fra skolens succeskriterie: ”Når et barn ikke længere har brug for specialundervisning på grund af et godt og trygt skoleforløb, er skolen blevet overflødig i barnets liv. Succeskriteriet er at gøre børnene livsduelige igennem den rette læring”. Projektet ønsker gennem inddragelse, at lære børnene færdigheder og give dem selvtillid, der kan hjælpe dem til at opnå den livsduelighed, der er målet for skolens indsats.

Projektets formål er at udvikle praktiske værktøjer og tilgange, der kan designe relationer mellem børn, pårørende og skolens medarbejdere. Værktøj og tilgange skal facilitere inddragelse af børn i skolens kultur og hverdag og give dem kompetencer til at tage styring i egen tilværelse.

Laila Grøn Truelsen, who is the Head of the LAB for Social Inclusion and is both a designer and a teacher, says that the task the designers got was to " devise something" that can make the special programmes that Marielund School offers superfluous so that children can move on in a regular school setting.

Tested tools for working to support students so that they will be heard and can verbalise feelings, events and possibly reflections already exist, but the innovative element in TACTUS is that its starting point is visual, tactile, sensual and more abstract.

– Tests have clearly shown that for some students the tactile approach makes a big difference in how students can be convinced to open up and talk about their feelings and thoughts. With TACTUS it’s possible to start a process in which you can tangibly and tactilely feel the material. It can pave the way for checking within oneself, taking a more intellectual approach and reflecting orally in a process that alternates between something visual, sensual, tactile and something you do with your hands and something that involves reflection and learning, says Laila Grøn Truelsen.

The tool can be used by a pedagogue and a child in one-on-one conversations or in group conversations, where it is used by several children together with a pedagogue.

Collaborators: Marielund School and the VELUX FOUNDATION

A visual tool that, in a learning and conversation environment, encourages children and adolescents to talk about their thoughts and feelings.

Guide cards - An additional tool for TACTUS, developed in collaboration with psychologist Lene Kiel Jespersen. The cards can be used as an independent tool for mapping the child's level of development or as preparation for conversations.

Guide booklets – A set of two booklets – an introductory booklet and a booklet containing four case studies as well as a TACTUS manual.