Student voice and inclusive education: perspectives from primary schools in Kosovo

This qualitative study aimed to examine how primary school students in Kosovo understand and experience inclusion and how opportunities for voice and participation shape these experiences. The study was conducted in five primary schools and involved students aged 6–11, teachers, and school leaders. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews, focus groups, classroom observations, and participatory activities and analysed using Lundy’s framework of Space, Voice, Audience, and Influence. Students understood inclusion through belonging, emotional safety, respectful relationships, equitable participation, and responsive support from adults. Their opportunities to express their views were closely connected to these experiences: supportive relationships encouraged participation, whereas ridicule, fear of making mistakes, social isolation, and unequal opportunities to speak constrained it. Although students were often provided with Space and Voice and were sometimes heard by adults, there was less evidence that their perspectives systematically influenced classroom or school decisions. The study shows that student voice contributes to inclusive education when opportunities to speak are accompanied by attentive listening, transparent responses, and processes through which students’ views can inform practice.