QUEEN Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh, has developed a series of resources for use in educational settings to help enhance disability literacy.
The University will launch its new Toy Box Diversity Lab website of resources on 9th May 2024, which will help guide discussions between educators and their primary school learners about disability equality and representation in the school curriculum, as well as encouraging them to think about accessibility in their own environments.
Funded by the QMU Innovation Fellowship, the educational assets include an activities pack, instructional videos and a directory of other resources to encourage positive discussions in schools.
The University will also be launching an online short course on Disability Confidence for Educational Practitioners, running from September 2024.
Dr Clare Uytman and Dr Siân Jones, senior lecturers in the Division of Psychology, Sociology and Education at QMU, have led the three-year long project, establishing their own research group to do so.
The lecturers have tested their resources with almost 550 children in England and Scotland, as well as running focus groups to create the final products in collaboration with teachers, disabled adults and parents of disabled children.
Dr. Uytman, said: “Positive understanding, representation and discussion around disability is so important for achieving a more inclusive learning environment through imagination and play, which will help children understand the importance of these topics from an early age.
“It is so rewarding to see three years of hard work and thorough research come together with the creation of these highly beneficial resources which we hope will be of real value to the teaching profession and enhance disability literacy.”
As well as the website, the QMU lecturers have also been working in collaboration with activist not-for-profit organisation, ToyLikeMe, to ensure better representation of disabilities in children’s media, including toys, books and television programmes.
Dr. Jones, said: “There is growing evidence that toys representing disability give non-disabled children windows into the worlds of disabled children.
“We are building on this evidence base, using images of adapted toy prototypes, such as Barbie with a missing limb, or Olaf the snowman from Disney’s Frozen with a cochlear implant, and showcasing these to children through pop-up exhibitions and activities we have been trialing at schools to help them think and speak positively about disability.”
Scottish primary school teacher, Mhairi Ritchie, welcomed one of these pop-up exhibitions so that she, and her pupils, could sample the resources. She said: “Involvement in the project was a fantastic way to explore disability. The children learned new vocabulary and developed a new perspective around what it means to be disabled.
“The accompanying resources were highly engaging and thoughtfully designed, enabling an interdisciplinary approach to the learning. The great thing is that we can use the resources again in the future and we look forward to doing so!”
An event will be taking place both online and in the Halle Lecture Theatre on campus at QMU to coincide with the official launch of the website on 9th May.
The launch event will take place between 4pm and 5.30pm at which attendees can learn more about the evidence-based research that has been conducted for this project, as well as more details on the resources on offer.
Register for your place on or before 7th May – https://www.tickettailor.com/events/queenmargaretuniversity1/1207938
Find out more about QMU’s online short course on Disability Confidence for Educational Practitioners here –