Introduction:
Recently, there has been an increase in interest amongst educators and policy makers about the notion of student engagement and student empowerment as well as the most effective ways that schools might leverage such factors in order to improve student outcomes.
Despite this recent interest, the notion of Student Voice (which is often linked to engagement and empowerment) is not a new one and schools have had mechanisms designed to engage the student body for many years, although the purpose and effectiveness of such mechanisms is often disputed. Indeed, one of the most common forms, the Student Representative Council, is regularly disparaged by both teachers and students as being unrepresentative and tokenistic.
Regardless of this, there is now clear evidence emerging that having a powerful forum for students to express their feeling about their school experiences – and to take action about those feelings – can be an important factor in school improvement.
Why involve students in decision making?
The discourse about students’ involvement in their education has changed over the last few decades with the rise of constructivist approaches to learning. According to these theories, effective learning is predicated upon student autonomy, with students playing an important role in what to learn and the direction of learning. Constructivists like Bruner (1966) argue that learning is the process where learners connect old knowledge with new knowledge; to do this effectively, a teacher must engage learners in an active discussion about their learning.
Manefield et al (2007) support this argument, suggesting that ‘student voice is one avenue through which students can explore and construct their own learning, gain more control over the content, direction and method of learning and develop higher order thinking skills’.
There are many reasons to engage student voice. According to various researchers, increased student voice may aid in the motivation of disengaged students (Mohamed and Wheeler 2001), promote citizenship and assist students to develop a concept of themselves of learners and agents of change (Fielding and Rudduck 2002). Mitra and Frick (2004) encourage teachers to consider who ‘owns’ the learning in schools: ‘They suggest that asking for student opinions, and listening to student voices, reminds teachers that students possess unique knowledge and perspectives. School improvement is positively impacted upon by listening to student experiences, particularly the experiences of those who are alienated and struggling’ (p14).
The Ladder of Participation
A useful way of examining Student Voice is to look at Roger Hart’s (1992) Ladder of Participation. This tool sets out a set of eight rungs that identify the level of involvement of young people at each stage. At the lowest levels, students are simply used as decoration, or as token representatives. In the middle of the ladder, there is a stage where students are consulted and informed about adult decision making. This is representative of Youth Advisory Council. At the top of the ladder, there are young people led actions (for example, youth led activism) and processes where young people and adults share decision making (for example, youth adult partnerships).
So how does a school leadership team go about developing Student Voice? Fortunately, there is a lot of information available about effective ways to do this. In particular, Roger Holdsworth (2002) has written extensively about using Student Action Teams to address specific areas requiring improvement. These are groups of students who work with teachers to address areas of specific improvement within schools. More broadly, below are five tips to improve student voice in schools.
- Consult with students early and regularly…
It’s easy to let things like Student Voice slide in the hectic day to day business of a school. By establishing a regular meeting schedule and various methods of communication, school leaders can make developing student voice part of the daily routine and not an added extra.
- … And show the student body the results of the consultation.
Holdsworth (2000), amongst others, argues that there is no point engaging with students unless they have real agency to affect change within their school. It’s not enough to meet with students – there must be the chance of acting upon their comments, too.
- Make students a part of important decisions.
Sometimes, Student Voice is limited to less important sectors of the school environment. This can limit the effectiveness of the students – and they will be quick to realise that their influence is limited. Instead, involve students in big decisions regarding learning, facilities, even staffing.
- Trust students to make the right decisions.
Teachers can find it hard to let go of control in the school and classroom. However, part of developing student voice is allowing students to have ownership over the decisions. This requires trusting the students to make the right decisions.
- Work with all members of the student body – not just the ‘teacher pleasers’
Often, Student Representative Councils are only representative of who teachers consider to be the best students. A lot of the research suggests that Student Voice programs are actually more effective when disengaged students are involved.
For more information about Student Voice:
Youth Advisory Council of NSW: http://youth.nsw.gov.au/youth-advisory-council/
Connect Magazine: http://asprinworld.com/Connect/
References:
Bruner, J.S. 1966, Toward a Theory of Instruction, Cambridge, Mass.: Belkapp Press.
Fielding, M. & Rudduck, J. 2002, The Transformative Potential of Student Voice: Confronting the Power Issues, Symposium on Student Consultation, Community and Democratic Tradition, paper presented at the Annual Conference of the British Educational Research Association, University of Exeter, England.
Hart, R. 1992, Children’s Participation: from Tokenism to Citizenship. for UNICEF Innocenti Essays, No. 4, UNICEF/International Child Development Centre, Florence, Italy.
Holdsworth, R. 2002, Student Action Teams: What do we learn? Paper presented at the The Role of Schools in Crime Prevention Conference convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology in conjunction with the Department of Education, Employment and Training, Victoria, and Crime Prevention Victoria and held in Melbourne, 30 September – 1 October, <http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/schools/holdsworth.pdf>.
Manefield, J., Collins, R., Moore J., Mahar, S. and Warne, C (2007), Student Voice: A historical perspective and new directions for Victorian Department of Education, Paper No. 10, Melbourne, Australia.
Mitra, D. & Frick, W. 2004, A Typology of Student Voice in School Reform, iNet online conference papers, <http://www.sst-inet.net/olc/paperdetails.aspx?id=1&pid=7>.
Mohamed, I. & Wheeler, W. 2001, Broadening the Bounds of Youth Development: Youth as Engaged Citizens, Chevy Chase, MD: The Innovation Center and the Ford Foundation.
