“This period abroad brought me plenty food for thought for the upcoming year. We leave with new ideas, new perspectives and deep gratitude for the warm welcome here at the School of Education. Thank you for making this experience so meaningful!”
What began as an email exchange with Dr. Ben Whitburn about understanding different perspectives in the literature on visual impairment ended up in a four-months research stay of Jentel Van Havermaet (Ghent University, Belgium) at our School of Education. This period abroad, almost coming to an end, has flown by.
Jentel and her personal assistant Eliane felt warmly welcomed to the University, by joining the inspiring CHEP festival at the beginning of September. Also, many sessions organized by the doctoral college were helpful to develop skills that are relevant to PGR’s. For example, the ‘Shut Up and Write’ sessions are something they surely will elaborate on in Belgium. It was their great pleasure to engage in teaching sessions, to connect with how students think about “experience, disability, accessibility, inclusion, … that shape knowledge”, and to have highly valuable interactions with colleagues of the School of Education!
The focus of the research stay was bringing initial thoughts about the introduction and conclusions of the PhD together and reflectively writing about positionality as a researcher. Giving a presentation about positioning to the members of the Centre for Research and Inclusion (CRI) was a wonderful opportunity to deepen those writings. Sharing experiences of academia and disability motivated Ben and Jentel to publish together. While having the chance to visit the charming surrounding cities like Winchester, Romsey and Salisbury, they explored that there is an accessible tactile map of the cathedrals which is an educational good practice to notice.
Another highlight of their research stay was a visit from Jentel’s supervisor, Prof. Dr. Elisabeth De Schauwer, who provided a presentation about belonging in inclusive education.