Inclusive Change in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: A Collaborative Autoethnography

Abstract

In many countries, including those in the Caribbean, there has recently been an increasing demand for professional development on inclusive educational practices This need for high-quality professional development is in line with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (2016) call for inclusion of all children by 2030. Recently, our team was asked to provide professional development to educators in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines that focused on evidence-based practices for students with special education needs. Over the course of 3 years, this service work evolved into a multi-faceted pilot of inclusive education, whereby students with special education needs transitioned from a segregated school into mainstream schools. In this article, we present a collaborative autoethnography that highlights our collective experiences. Our self‑reflections chronicle our experiences and accompanying perceptions gained through providing support and education to educators, students, schools, community, and families in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines over a 3-year period, as they prepared for this transition to inclusion. In collectively reviewing our self-reflections, we discovered three major themes at the heart of our service work: (a) “barriers to inclusion,” (b) “the importance of relationships,” and (c) “transformation.” In discussing these three themes, we explore the successes and challenges we experienced throughout these service projects. What follows is a discussion of our reflective musings related to these experiences as shared critical knowledge for sustainable inclusion work within the Caribbean and beyond.