ALLFIE’s ‘How Was School?’ project looks at Disabled People’s experiences of education over the last 100 years through the telling and recording of personal memories and histories of school.
Aims of the Project
- We trained a group of disabled volunteers based in London to be oral history interviewers, who recorded the oral history interviews of 50 disabled people across England.
- The interviews were used to create a learning resource for schools, including lesson support worksheets with activities and teachers notes.
- The schools pack will be a key resource for ‘Disabled People’s History Month’ and supports elements of the National Curriculum. The resource provides an opportunity for disabled and non-disabled children and young people to learn together about the history of segregation/ inclusion and would link to the existing Citizenship work on Black history, Women’s history and Lesbian & Gay (LBGT) history.
- We have created a public-access website which includes a historical timeline.
- All of the interviews, in their entirety, are housed and available to listen to in a public archive at the British Library. Find the full archive here under the heading of ‘Education’.
Outcomes of the Project
- The work values the experiences of every disabled person who was interviewed and their journeys at school.
- People will learn about and understand the day to day reality of life for many disabled people.
- Disabled young people will have a greater understanding of their history.
‘How Was School?’ is a project of the Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE).
Teachers Notes https://howwasschool.allfie.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Teachers-Notes.pdfeachers
Worksheets
Learning with Oral History
Timeline Explore the history of disabled people and education through time
Themes
Opportunities and Expectations
What Young People Say What Young People Say 2