Imagining Inclusive Schooling and Research: Student Narratives, Participatory Methods, and Relational Spaces in Education in Emergencies

Kemigisha Richardson

This project builds on my dissertation, which examines how disabled students in refugee-hosting districts in Uganda experience inclusive education. Drawing on data collected across five schools through classroom observations, interviews, and students' written and visual journals, this proposal supports continued analysis of my dissertation data through furthered examination of students' narratives of inclusive education, critical analysis of visual and participatory methods, and how research is conducted in emergency contexts. My analysis will draw on comparative and intersectional approaches to understand the perspectives shared by students, teachers, caregivers, and practitioners who shape the educational experiences of refugee and host-community students. This fellowship will provide the opportunity to produce journal articles focused on students' imaginings of inclusive education, the possibilities and limitations of participatory and visual methods, the relational dimensions of research, and begin conversations with an academic press for my first book manuscript. It will also support the development of an artifact that draws on students' narratives of inclusion and belonging to support teachers and practitioners. Ultimately, this project seeks to engage in transformative research that bridges the gap between inclusive education research, policy, and practice and contributes to more contextual and ethical approaches to education research in the global South.

About Kemigisha Richardson

Kemigisha Richardson is a 2026 NAEd/Spencer Research Fellow at Teachers College, Columbia University, in the International and Comparative Education Program and was a 2025 NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellow. Her research interests include inclusive education, education in emergencies and reconstruction, refugee education, teacher well-being, and qualitative, participatory, and visual methodologies. Using comparative and visual methodological approaches, Kemigisha's dissertation examined how school norms shape constructions of disability and difference in relation to inclusion and influence students' perceptions of self. Drawing on research with disabled students, educators, caregivers, and stakeholders in Uganda, her dissertation explored how students conceptualize and experience inclusion, imagine inclusive school spaces, and situated these narratives within broader social, political, and historical contexts. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, Kemigisha worked as a public school teacher in Hawaiʻi, where she taught students with diverse learning needs and multilingual backgrounds. These experiences continue to inform her commitment to student-centered research. Through her NAEd/Spencer Research Fellowship, Kemigisha will deepen her analysis of how students experience and imagine inclusive school spaces. She will also examine how participatory and visual research methods affect primary school students' experiences of research participation, and explore how education research can foster more relational, reciprocal, and accountable forms of engagement. Her work seeks to bridge the gap between inclusive education research, policy, and practice by centering the knowledge and perspectives of those who engage and support students every day. During the fellowship, she plans to develop her dissertation into a book manuscript and secure a contract with an academic press.