In 2018, Tara Subramaniam of the student-run nonprofit Student Voice wrote that students are rarely consulted on the decisions that shape their schooling. The section below the original explains what student voice in schools means in practice, what research on school improvement shows about it, and how a school can start.
In a world where the customer is always right, students, essentially the customers of the education system, are often not being listened to. Administrative decisions are frequently driven by mandates of the government (federal or local). Sometimes the teachers are included, but rarely are students consulted. The student-run nonprofit Student Voice was born out of this desire to give students a voice within a system theoretically designed to help them succeed.
A study by the Quaglia Institute showed that increasing student engagement in schools has a direct correlation with higher grades and lower drop-out rates. In turn, when more students stay in school, a higher percentage of students move on to higher education, contributing to a more educated workforce that is better equipped to solve the problems of tomorrow.
Student Voice aims to help high school students find their voice and provide them with the tools and resources to enact change on the issues that matter most to them. We have found that the best way to ensure high student engagement is to meet them where they are and bring them into the conversation.
Recently, Student Voice embarked on a nationwide tour, hosting roundtables in 50 different cities. The first question we asked these students was to tell us something about their school that the teachers and administrators probably didn’t know. Suddenly, we were exposed to a whole slew of issues and concerns that, far from not being addressed, were not even on the radar of those making the decisions. This is only one example of the importance of including student voice in schools.
Giving students opportunities to have their voices heard does not have to be limited to one classroom. The Superintendent for Pittsburgh Public Schools is working to start a Student Advisory Council and Philadelphia’s mayor has long had a youth commission. Both are instances of the powers that be reaching out to give students a seat at the table in the rooms where the decisions are being made. It’s a good first step.
Allowing students to take control of some of their learning within the classroom can be the first step towards empowering them to speak up on bigger issues they’ve noticed that impact their daily lives. Listen to students. You may be surprised by how much they have to say.
Giving students a voice within the education system Headed to FETC this week in Orlando? You can see Tara take part in two panel discussions, Increasing Community Engagement with Technology: Why and How It’s Done (Thursday, 12 – 12:40 pm) and Generation-Savvy Leadership: Tapping Into Teachers’ and Learners’ Skills and Interests (Thursday, 1-1:40 pm).
Student voice in schools: what it means and how schools use it
Tara Subramaniam wrote that students are in effect the customers of the education system, yet are seldom asked what they think. Student voice in schools is the practice of changing that, and this section explains the term, the research behind it and some first steps for a teacher or principal.
What student voice means
Dana Mitra, a researcher who studies student voice, describes student voice initiatives in a 2008 article in Educational Leadership, Amplifying Student Voice, as projects that are different from traditional student leadership roles such as planning dances and holding pep rallies. Mitra describes three levels. At the simplest level, young people share with administrators and faculty their opinions about school problems. In more extensive initiatives, students work with adults to address significant problems. In rare cases, students take leadership roles in change efforts. The 2018 piece from Student Voice and the examples in it, a roundtable tour in 50 cities and student advisory councils proposed in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, sit mostly at the first and second levels.
What the research shows
Mitra reports that research on student voice initiatives shows they can improve teachers’ classroom practice, and describes a case observed closely at a California high school that the article calls Whitman. In 1998 only 57 percent of students who entered ninth grade graduated, half were English language learners, and one third of the teachers left each year. The school’s reform team asked a diverse group of students to design and conduct focus groups on why so many ninth graders struggled to pass classes, and to help analyze the results. Students corrected adults’ readings of what classmates had said, and the group identified four priorities: the school’s reputation, counseling and information for incoming ninth graders, communication between students and teachers, and the quality of teaching. A student forum then formed, and ten of its members took part with teachers in professional development training. Mitra writes that the process led to better instruction, better student-teacher relationships and more empowered students.
Two limits apply. This is an account of one school by the researcher who observed it, so it shows what is possible and does not show that every school would gain the same way. The text also dates from 2008. Subramaniam’s original cites a Quaglia Institute study linking student engagement to higher grades and lower dropout rates, and the numbers that circulate from that organization’s surveys vary from one source to another, so a school quoting them should go to the original reports rather than a summary.
How a school can start
- Ask a first question. Subramaniam’s group opened its roundtables by asking students to tell them something about their school that teachers and administrators probably did not know. A principal or teacher can ask the same question in a class meeting or a short written survey.
- Include students who are not already leaders. At Whitman the focus groups and the interviewers reflected the range of grades, achievement levels and social groups in the school. A student council made up only of high achievers will report a narrow view.
- Give students a real part in analysis. At Whitman, students explained a classmate’s comment that adults had read as not valuing school, and showed the student had been avoiding a teacher after missing class for family reasons. Having students read the findings alongside staff helps prevent that kind of misreading.
- Tell students what happens next. A school that asks and does not act teaches students that asking is pointless. Choose one change that can be made within the term and report back.
- Start inside the classroom. Subramaniam suggests that letting students control some of their own learning is a first step toward speaking about larger issues. Choice in how to show learning, or a short feedback form on a unit, are practical ways to begin.
Related reading from edCircuit
For the link between being heard and student wellbeing, see Amplifying Student Voice: The Key to Improving Wellbeing, written by the founders of a student wellbeing software company, which should be read with that in mind. The organization that Subramaniam writes for still operates and describes its work on its site, Student Voice, as equipping students to take action.
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