Research and policy
MSMW fills an equity gap for students
"Giving them a voice is important...for high support [students] there is not alot out there and I would love to see more."
Teacher, School for Specific Purpose (SSP)
In our early discovery work, schools told us they experience an equity gap for students with disability. Schools have reported:
- a lack of suitable tools in the commercial marketplace
- high cost of outsourcing
- workload burden when having to either adapt existing tools or develop their own from scratch.
My Say My Way (MSMW) has been co-designed with schools to ensure that the tools suit the needs of this cohort and provide these students with the opportunity to have their say and for their thoughts to inform decision-making in their school.
MSMW supports the delivery of key strategic policies
The first principle of inclusive practice is to embed student agency and self-determination. MSMW puts this into practice by helping ensure that:
- Students have a voice and are supported to express their views.
- Parents/carers are engaged as partners in supporting student voice and participation.
- We use feedback from students to drive continuous improvement in schools and across the system.
Research activities and publications
The MSMW project includes a dedicated research stream to contribute to the evidence base and fill a gap in the research literature on ‘what works best’ for students with disability and complex learning needs.
| Topics | Description of the research |
|---|---|
| MSMW in action | This is our case study series, which aims to describe and analyse the ways in which schools approach different aspects of MSMW in a range of school contexts. In 2026, our first two case studies will feature:
We look forward to providing a preview of these case studies at the Special Education Principals' and Leaders' Association NSW (SEPLA-CON) 2026 conference, before making them available to all schools as part of the full roll out in 2027. |
| MSMW insights | This is our CESE research paper series. This work provides concise, reader-friendly information on the research and strategic priorities underpinning MSMW, as well as system-level insights from the student data (from 2027). |
We are also proud to be working in partnership with Professor Andrew Martin at the University of New South Wales. This work focuses on the quantitative aspects of MSMW. The MSMW 2026 data was collected as part of the pilot phase of the project and is currently undergoing psychometric testing and analysis. As well as validating the measures within our Student Accessible Survey (SAS) tool, this work aims to make a contribution to the academic literature in this space.
Last modified date
15/07/2026
Business unit contact email
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Executive director
Jacqueline Hodges, Silva Hiendra
Executive director’s business unit
Education and Skills Reform