Research vs Lived Experience

While being research-based is important, “Lived Experience” is essential to consider in education as students are complex individuals that have multiple influences upon their learning.

Lived experience is like the ultimate insider knowledge. It's one thing to study something academically, but actually living it provides a depth of understanding that's hard to replicate. For neurodivergent individuals, their lived experiences give them unique insights into their own challenges, strengths, and needs.

It's not just about knowing the facts; it's about understanding the nuances, the emotions, and the day-to-day reality. Lived Experience offers subjective and personal insights based on individual encounters and perspectives.

Research, on the other hand, follows a systematic and objective approach to generate generalisable knowledge. Both have their own strengths and limitations, and a holistic understanding often involves considering and integrating both types of knowledge.

The table below outlines the key elements of Research and Lived Experience

So, when it comes to making decisions or advocating for change, we need both. We need to look at the research context, ask for lived experience in our context to be shared and then use both sets of data to make a decision.

This is what my 360 Inclusive Reviews do. They look at the research base, combine it with lived experience data from the students we work with and then make specific recommendations to improve inclusive learning within your context.

Have a read of the Medbury School Inclusive Review case study and get in touch with Brooke to book in your 360 Inclusive Review.