Student voice: important?
Ashley F.
United Kingdom
The student voice
Georgina H.
United Kingdom
Why is student voice important? What difference will giving students a voice make?
Jade S.
United Kingdom
Student voice
Jemma C.
United Kingdom
Why is student voice important? What difference will giving students a voice make?
Jessica H.
United Kingdom
The student voice
Jordan M.
United Kingdom
Why is student voice important? What difference will giving students a voice make?
Kimberley P.
United Kingdom
Website presentation
Moseley School
United Kingdom
Student voice at Nanango State High School
Danielle P. & Jenna W.
Australia
Responses to the iNet online conference leaflet
Suzanne G.
United Kingdom
Student voice
Richard O.
United Kingdom
Student voice: an essential move in 21st century education
Penny W. & Carys L.
United Kingdom
Student voice website presentation
Prestbury CE Primary School
United Kingdom
Student Voice
Paul C.
United Kingdom
Why is student voice important?
Student Aspiration Team
United Kingdom
The importance of student voice
Rebecca P., Robert Y., Daniel B., Thomas B. & Simon Y.
United Kingdom
A culture of student voice
Carissa T.
Australia
Student voice is not simply an event, it’s a way of life
Jason H.
United Kingdom
Our Say
Kelsey B
Australia
What difference will giving students a voice make?
Sonia
Australia
Students know what’s needed
Nerida
Australia
Why is student voice important?
Anika
Australia
Student voice
Davenant Foundation School students
United Kingdom
Student voice
Nazareth College students
Australia
Student voice: important?
Ashley F.
Year 9
Ringwood School
England , United Kingdom
This PowerPoint presentation can be found on the Ringwood School website
Click on the large black ‘Learning’ area on the left-hand side of the screen. Then click on the ‘Citizenship’ link (in orange writing), which is listed in the black vertical box on the right-hand side of the screen. There is a link to Ashley's presentation at the bottom of the ‘Citizenship’ page. Please be patient, as the file takes a while to load.
The student voice
Georgina H.
14 years
Sexey’s School
England, United Kingdom
Imagine if we
Had no student voice,
We wouldn’t be productive,
We’d all be disruptive.
Imagine if we
Had no student voice,
No responsibility,
No ingenuity.
Imagine if we
Had no student voice,
Students not getting involved,
No problems getting solved.
Imagine if we
Had no student voice,
All lessons would be boring,
We’d all end up snoring.
Why is student voice important? What difference will giving students a voice make?
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Jade S.
11 years
Blackfriars School
England, United Kingdom |
At this school we have a counsel for pupils and they make their own answers and I am a member of it and you can let people decide what they want in the school, like have some bins to put the litter in and get some more play stuff for the little ones.
When it’s red nose day we have to sort it out and have red on us and the pupils decide what to do and what they agree on, and on no-school-clothes day and when they have to decide for mad hair day, you have to come with your hair really madly done. At the end pupils and members decide for a disco and other things, like more equipments like PC, PE, and science equipment.
We also have to raise money for children in need and send things in a box to other countries to help them. Also, we would like footballs, basketballs and other stuff for outside the school area. Also, we get together at the counsel meetings. We also have a choice - these are the choices we want to make, like have more wet break games, more benches for inside and outside and more tables and chairs for the school and have more summer fairs to raise money for Africa and all the other countries.
I have asked the year 11 and years 9 and 10 why they think it is important that students have a voice? These are some of the things that they said: one pupil commented that he thought that it is a good idea that the pupils have a chance to decide some of the things that happen and not the teachers.
Also, we would like longer break times. We would also like more books for the library and more other things, like more board games, swimming things like inflatable boats, rings and sponges, better arm bands and more swimming hats.
We would like more extra lessons like music, PE, maths, ICT, science, and art. The council is also good because of the people that are on the council and because it’s better for the teachers.
We also discuss the events and important issues. We also decided on things like having a healthy tuck, like toast, spreads, and fruited drinks. We have to eat bananas, apples, oranges, pears and we have healthy snack bars.
It would be good if we had a healthy snack bar fridge and a healthy drinks fridge. We have fairs and they’re really good. We have books, cakes, and white elephants (it’s things that people don’t want). We have tombola, where you can win prizes. It is really good when we have events because we have a lot of stalls.
On the stalls we sell cars, teddies, board games, books, CDs, crafts, jewellery, hand bags. We also sell coffee, tea, orange juice, blackcurrant juice, lemonade, coke and fresh orange juice.
We would like more coat hangers for inside the school, so we can hang our coats up and then we will have more room. Also, we would like more tables and chairs for the class rooms, like the English, maths, PSHE, French, ICT, music, and science and all the other rooms.
We also have summer fairs, spring fairs, and Christmas fairs. Also, we have been thinking of more events and everything that is happening in the council.
Recently we have raised 153 pounds for dogs for the disabled, by some of the children walking around Newcastle town centre with buckets, and it was a really good day and all of the children felt like they had helped.
I think it’s important that students have a voice because we can make choices for, and on behalf of, all pupils.
Student Voice
Jemma C.
15 years
Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School and Language College
England, United Kingdom
As a student, I think that the student voice is important, as students have their own opinions and they count, too.
Students can give opinions that can make things better, as they know what will help them to do things better.
I know that other students and I don’t like some of the things that are done in school and should have some say in what goes on.
For example, homework. If students are struggling with the work they should be given extra homework to help them to understand but if they know what they are doing there is no need for homework.
Also, if the child wants to do well, they can be given homework to help them to do better but if they don’t care about doing well, then that is up to them, they shouldn’t be pushed if they don’t want to do well.
Another example is uniform. The students have to wear it, so why should it be up to the staff to decide what the uniform is like. We understand that the staff wants us to look smart and all the same, so that people know what school we are from but we don’t want to be wearing a horrible uniform that is irritating or a horrible colour.
Another example is how we learn. We all have different ways of learning and we should be taught in the ways that we will remember. If we are constantly just copying down what the teacher says, it is not going to help us learn. We need to be able to remember the information and be able to revise from it, so we should take the information down in a way that we will remember and be able to revise from.
I think that it is fair if students get their opinion, as we are all equal no matter what age we are. It is our school, as well as the teachers’ school, so we should all be able to have our say about things.
Why is student voice important? What difference will giving students a voice make?
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Jessica H.
Blackfriars School
England, United Kingdom |
I think it is important to have a student voice because every person makes a difference to help school become a better and happier place for everyone. Student voice is also very important because pupils often want their opinion shared and often never get the chance to shine in their own way.
If students do get a chance to have a voice, I think they will show more respect to other students and really listen to what other students are saying and take it in better. I also think that student voice is good because then not just the teachers are getting what they want but also the pupils are as well, so it is the best of both worlds.
Student voice can make a different by making words louder than actions. Like a good example is the school council because pupils don’t just get to talk about what they want doing, they actually get it done, too. I think that student voice can make a different to how pupils think of their school because if a pupil thinks their school is all about what the teacher wants, and not the pupils, he or she will find school not a very nice place to be. At the end of the day, school years are the best years of your life and also pupils are not just putting up with what they have to, they are actually getting what they want by having a voice.
I am an ex-council member and it was great and it really turned the school around, the things I did on the school council. We did things like making posters, writing the newsletter to go home, and organised events such as red nose day, world book day. It all made a difference, just by giving student a voice and letting them be heard!
I also think that student voice is important because young teenagers just like me, about my age, are pressured into thing like drugs, sex and smoking, all by peer pressure. That’s how most teenage pregnancies start, by young boys or girls pressing them into sex, so if teenagers have a voice and can speak up and say ‘No’ where it is wanted, because most teenagers say ‘Yes’ to get other teenagers off their back
A lot of bullying also starts because student don’t have a voice and don’t have the right to talk to somebody they trust, like a teacher or a parent. I also think that student voice is very good because it will not just help in the classroom but also outside the classroom, like in youth clubs and social events. Teenagers will have the confidence to stand up to the things they don’t believe in, like bullying and racism. They can stand up and be counted, just like adults can, because what is the point of having a voice if it is not counted!
I also think student voice is a good thing because it helps adults know what is going on inside teenagers’ heads and helps them understand more.
The student voice
Jordan M.
15 years
Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School and Language College
England, UK
As students, I think it is very important that we get a say in what is going on in our school.
For example, homework. Teachers set homework to help us understand the work more but I don’t think it is fair that the pupils who already understand the work should still have to be doing it. I think homework should be a choice and the pupils should only do it if they don’t understand the work and also if the pupil wants to do better in school. If the pupil doesn’t want to do well at school then that’s his or her own fault. This is why the pupil should get to say and do what they think.
Another reason why pupils should get to say their opinion is that if the teachers make a decision about the school that the students disagree with, they might even decide not to come to school because they hate the idea so much. For example, if the teachers decide to add an extra lesson in the day, then it isn’t fair to overwork the students and therefore they would be too tired and miserable to come to school.
Another reason students should get a say in what happens in their school is that it improves their mind. It could make them much happier at school and they would then want to attend the school more and would be much happier in their lessons and would try to understand the work more.
Finally, I think the main reason is fairness; the students should get just as much say about what happens in the school as the teachers do. It’s their school, too, and they shouldn’t be forced into going to a school they are not happy in.
Why is student voice important? What difference will giving students a voice make?
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Kimberley P.
13 years
Blackfriars School
England, United Kingdom |
Every student’s voice is important. Everyone has their own opinion that should be shared with others because every opinion counts! Student voices are important because students want their opinions to be heard, but often they never get the chance to express their personal views towards things.
Giving students a voice will change the way students approach and treat other students’ opinions and help them to make the right decisions. If students were given a voice, they would express their own views about things and listen to others and treat their opinions with respect.
In society, the way most people would stereotype most students or younger citizens would be, not wise, inexperienced, silly, and not being able to make their own decisions. All these factors contribute to this barrier in society between the young and the old. As generations grow, so does society. When the elder generation was in student education, it was a simpler time, more strict but definitely simpler. The new generation has many more problems to live with. Sixty years ago there weren’t many drugs on the streets that they could afford but now drugs have become a major problem in society because they have become cheaper and more available to young adults and children. Peer pressure is very common in the young generation, for example: if one of your friends is experimenting with drugs, he or she may offer you some, but you don’t want some, but then again you’re afraid he or she will not be your friend after. So you take the drug, what happens next? You carry on taking them or you lose a friend?
As you see, it can be very confusing to judge what’s best when you’re this young but if there wasn’t a student voice then this problem would carry on and it wouldn’t get helped.
Another factor with students is they are wanting to experiment with sex, although sex is illegal up to the age of 16, it is a very curious time for teens. I have learnt recently that England has the biggest population of young mums under age of 16 in all of Europe. Sexual education is being taught at the age of 15/16, now doesn’t this say something? That sexual education should be taught at a younger age, after all, this is what students want. They don’t want to be a father or mother by the age of 14, they want to be out enjoying themselves. But if they like to enjoy themselves by having underage sex, then they need the correct information, so that they know how to stay safe.
By giving students a voice, it will answer all the questions they have and solve a lot of problems we have occurring in our society, over and over again. Students need to be given a voice so that other people will know what they and other students are thinking and can help them to make their decisions and help them to make the mature, correct choices throughout their lives.
Website presentation
Moseley School
England, United Kingdom
http://www.moseley.bham.sch.uk/inetconf/inet.htm .
Moseley School is a secondary school of 1,400 students in Birmingham, England. Students represent a very wide range of ethnic backgrounds. We have asked students for their views on the importance of having a voice and have invited them to give their thoughts on being a member of the school council, on learning to learn and on what Moseley school of the future should be like.
Student voice at Nanango State High School
Danielle P. & Jenna W.
Both 16 years
Nanango State High School
Queensland, Australia
Synopsis: This article will explore the importance of students having a voice in schools and tells the story of a group of students who attempted to develop a dialogue with their teachers to improve teaching and learning at Nanango State High School.
It’s Friday afternoon, the teacher is teaching and, as usual, nothing is making sense. It seems as though every lesson is the same, the teacher talks and writes occasional words on the blackboard but it’s just going straight over your head.
You’re trying to take it in but there’s something about the way the teacher is trying to explain it that isn’t working for you. Soon enough, you are given some questions to do, which prove to be very difficult because you haven’t learnt anything all lesson. You want to ask the teacher to explain it differently but you’re afraid that he or she will yell at you or make you feel unintelligent. If only you could talk to your teacher about the difficulties you are having. But this is far too radical: students don’t talk to teachers about teaching. Besides, the teacher will never take you seriously. So, instead, you quietly copy the answers from your neighbour.
In this article, we will explore why we believe that students should have a voice in schooling and examine efforts that have been made at Nanango State High School to make this happen.
Currently, students have very little influence over the circumstances in which they are expected to learn. What they learn, how they learn and the pace they learn at are all predetermined by teachers, administrators and the Queensland Study Authority. In most classrooms there is little consideration for the individual learning styles of students, as most teachers teach according to their preferred learning style.
In the school as a whole, students have very little input into major school issues, such as the school rules, subject choices and the setting of future goals for the school. Students also have very little discretionary time. They are told where to go, when to go and what to do there. Even their lunchtimes are rarely their own, taken up with sport training, rehearsals and the myriad of other activities that make up a school day. In Queensland, from 2006 onwards, students are even being told what to eat!
This comes largely from the school’s grounding in an industrial age model of education. As Peter Senge wrote in Schools That Learn:
‘Educators of the mid-nineteenth century borrowed their design from the factory-builders who introduced interchangeable, trained workers doing precisely designed repetitive tasks along the assembly line, orchestrated by a rhythm set by external bosses’.
(Senge 2000, p. 30)
The result was an industrial age school system fashioned in the image of the assembly line.
School is designed to run at a uniform speed, involving bells and rigid daily time schedules. Students are the raw product and are given the same treatment and tests to produce a standardised product. There is no consideration for different learning styles as it assumes all students learn the same way. The stages along the assembly line are called ‘grades’ or ‘year levels’ and everybody is supposed to move from stage to stage together. Students who do not learn at the pace of the assembly line either fall off or are forced to struggle continually.
Educators act more as controllers and inspectors, disregarding relationships and establishing teacher-centred, rather than student-centred, learning. Assessment is focused on getting marks instead of gauging one’s own capabilities. Discipline is in the form of adhering to the rules, rather than self-discipline. School, overall, is governed in an authoritarian manner and is dependent on maintaining control.
As Senge concluded in his article:
‘The only person who could, in fact, reflect on how the system as a whole is functioning is the one person who has no voice in the system, no power to provide meaningful feedback that could produce change. This person is the student’.
(Senge 2000, p. 58)
Without input from students, schools cannot evolve and begin to move away from their industrial age foundations. Students need a stronger voice and that is why a group of students at Nanango State High School have made it their mission to begin a new trend in teaching and learning. In 2005 we set about trying to gradually break down the barrier between students and teachers by initiating conversations with our teachers – ‘to knock down walls and build bridges’, as one student put it.
We believe that if teachers and students are able to have genuine discussions about the intricate details of teaching and learning, school will become a friendlier, less stressful environment where more learning can take place. This is based on the fact that students know how they learn best and can tell when a lesson is working well or not. If students were able to convey their honest feedback to an understanding teacher who could take these comments on board, the classroom would become a more productive place.
The objective sounded easy: begin discussions with your teachers about teaching and learning. What could be simpler? However, after a week of trying to spark conversation with our teachers, we returned disheartened. We realised right away that this was not going to be easy. In fact, it soon became one of the most difficult things we’d ever done, so we took a smaller step and began trying to firstly just thank our teachers for a lesson. This way we could build up a positive relationship with the teacher before we began discussing some of the more serious issues, in an attempt to avoid the possibility that they would take the suggestions as an attack on their teaching abilities. But this also proved difficult.
One of the common stories at our meetings was one of frustration. At the end of a fairly good lesson, the student would be on their way out the door getting ready to thank the teacher for that lesson. However, when the moment came, the student could not do it and continued walking out the door with a weak smile at the teacher. We decided that embarrassment and the fear of being seen to be ‘sucking up’ were the main reasons it was so difficult to do. Also, it was thought that the teacher would think we had ulterior motives for saying these things. Overall, we decided that this small ‘thank you’ at the end of class was so difficult to say because of the ‘power’ issue. Teachers have authority, so students are generally scared of talking to them as human beings on the same level. Instead it’s always ‘Yes miss’, or ‘No sir’.
Another problem we found was that teachers did not know how to respond when given thanks because they were not used to it and often found it embarrassing. Teachers are used to giving praise, not receiving it. In one instance, a teacher laughed when he was thanked for an effective lesson, not because he meant to be unfeeling but because he felt uncomfortable with being thanked. It was a new experience.
We needed to break down this hierarchy of power, which has been a direct result of the industrial age model of education, before we had any hope of students talking to teachers about important issues. For the rest of the year success stories began trickling in, slowly at first, giving us the first glimpse of the effect we were having. They were generally tiny things like a ‘thank you’ at the end of class or a small comment on a particular activity, but they were all celebrated as successes. One particular story was of a student congratulating her teacher on an exceptionally good lesson, which was enjoyed and productive. We soon realized that when a teacher’s hard work is acknowledged and appreciated, it makes the teacher very happy, as teachers are not often thanked for teaching. This is a catalyst for creating a situation that will go on to make teacher-student relationships less confrontational and more of a partnership. This lets discussions outside of schoolwork become a reality.
One student came to a meeting excited about a successful conversation she had just had with her teacher. It began when the student was having problems getting a major piece of assessment done because of all of the other assignments due at the same time. The student explained her situation to the teacher and asked why their last piece of assessment had to be due so early in the term. The teacher then explained that she’d put the due date early so that it didn’t clash with all of our other assessment. When the student explained that it was still clashing because all of her other teachers had had the same idea, the teacher then agreed to allowing a couple of weeks longer to work on it. This conversation benefited the whole class because they were all in the same situation.
However, 2005 ended rather suddenly and we were left feeling slightly disappointed. It felt as though we hadn’t achieved anything, just thanked a few teachers and talked about it in meetings. But we soon agreed that we had made a huge step toward our goal of breaking down the barriers between teachers and students, just by starting these conversations. In the six months we have been working on this we have explored the difficulties involved and found solutions. One such difficulty was the fact that many students admitted they did not enjoy some of their subjects and therefore would not be sincere with their thanks in that situation. Our solution was to find little things within the lesson that worked and that the teacher had put some effort into. This way we were still working toward that positive relationship.
We also agreed that we still have a long way to go before we change the culture of the entire school. This year (2006) being our last year of school, we are aware that it will not happen while we are still here. However, we have many exiting plans to keep us busy. This year we want to broaden our audience from our small group to the entire school. We plan to use the student council as our medium to get the message out to the entire school. We want to get everybody actively involved in talking to their teachers. Not just thanking them for a good lesson but eventually talking about important issues, like the student in the opening story. Instead of sitting quietly, struggling with the way the teacher is teaching, he should feel comfortable talking to his teacher about why it isn’t working and, together, coming up with a solution. It’s a big ask and it’s going to take lots of persuasion but if we can do this we might have begun a quiet revolution in teaching and learning at Nanango.
We began with the story of the student who found it impossible to talk to his teacher about the problems he was having in the lesson because of the pedagogical style of the teacher. What we have tried to do at Nanango State High School is to develop a process that will enable students and teachers to work together in a partnership of mutual respect, to enhance the effectiveness of teaching and the quality of student learning. This will require some rethinking of the industrial age paradigms that schools are grounded in and remains a huge challenge to those students involved. It will be a long journey but we believe we have made a significant beginning.
To finish, we thought we’d share with you one of our most uplifting success stories.
At the end of a year 11 process drama lesson, the whole class agreed that it was a fantastic lesson, made even better because the teacher had written the process drama herself. Everyone had become really involved in it so, at the end of the lesson, a comment was made that the teacher deserved a round of applause for a great lesson. After this, the teacher was ecstatic, as she had never received a round of applause for a lesson before. Everyone left that class in high spirits, as this was one more step on the road to a better school.
References
Senge, P., ‘The industrial age system of education’, in Senge, P., Cambron-McCabe, N., Lucas, T., Smith, B., Dutton, J. & Kleiner, A. (2000). Schools that Learn: A fifth discipline fieldbook for educators, parents, and everyone who cares about education. Doubleday, New York.
Responses to the iNet online conference leaflet
Suzanne G.
Parkstone Grammar School
England, United Kingdom
(Click here for the PowerPoint presentation)
Student Voice
Richard O.
15 years
Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School and Language College
England, United Kingdom
It is very important for a school to have a student voice. Here are some reasons.
It is their learning and their school should acknowledge their opinions. No one knows what they want to see in school better than they do.
The younger mind - the younger adult mind is full of imaginative and clever ideas that teachers, and so on, wouldn’t think of.
It improves self confidence. By standing up to teachers and saying we need more bins, and so on; those with a lack of self-confidence will gain confidence and subsequently may have a better life because of this.
It helps in the future. Many jobs require you to have strong opinions and the justification and courage to get them out to the world. If they are already doing so from school, it will be second nature to them and they will have a better job and, subsequently, a better life.
They have an inside look. Teachers look over a school and see occasional arguments, litter, and so on. But no one sees school in a better way than students do. They use school on an every day basis, and see things differently and possibly in a more enlightened way than the majority of teachers.
I believe that students have a much better view of school than teachers and, with their help, many schools would be better and happier working environments.
Student voice: an essential move in 21st century education
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Penny W. & Carys L.
14 and 13 years
Ringwood School
England, UK |
Synopsis
Students from an historic market town, Ringwood, in the United Kingdom, discuss the impact of the introduction of student voice on learning and teaching. The paper reveals various ways where students have been encouraged to voice their opinions and are now moving toward looking specifically at learning and teaching.
We are two students in year 9 at Ringwood School, a comprehensive school in Hampshire. We are currently taking part in a student dialogue group called ‘Student Learning Walks and Talks’, with two other schools, Twynham, in Christchurch and Priestlands, in Lymington. This involves us visiting each others’ school and recording what we think works well in their learning system, and what doesn’t. We are about to develop a presentation to deliver to the complete staff at Ringwood School. We have been given the opportunity to influence how the learning and teaching methods in our school develop and improve.
We believe that student voice is a vital part of education. For the first time, students have the power to express their opinions that, otherwise, would not be taken into account, and the power to put those thoughts into actions.
We have seen the student voice exercised effectively at Ringwood School. Firstly, we have year councils and a school council. This includes two elected members from each tutor group which, in turn, elects two people from each year group, who meet together to discuss important issues, such as learning and the learning environment.
They have allowed us to acquire numerous things, such as new water fountains and more recycling bins around the school. This method has proved extremely effective in the past few years, as it has been an aid to finding out what students’ desire and has enabled them to change the things that they themselves feel strongly about. New student planners are in the preparation stage and these will be designed in collaboration with students. Students are invited to meet candidates arriving for interview, take them on a school tour and are able to put their views forward before appointments are made.
We have also organised the group ‘Walks and Talks’, which we have already explained. This will enable the students to, once again, get their views across without feeling rude or impolite in any way. The focus of this group is on learning and teaching. Whilst the ‘Learning Walks’ group (eight students) visit other schools to make comparisons, the ‘Learning Talks’ group (12 students) are currently examining preferred learning styles and have completed an audit of all of year 9. We began with both groups meeting, off timetable, to discuss what helps and what hinders learning. Our groups now meet at a weekly working breakfast. We have been researching various aspects which affect how we learn: types of assessment, rewards and sanctions, learning and teaching styles, oral and written feedback, extension work, and the power of student voice. Kim and Ashley, two of the students in the ‘Learning Walks’ group, are attending meetings with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and our headteacher, where they meet up with others to discuss what is happening in education.
Certain students also attend the monthly meetings of the local Forest Youth Connect and Hampshire County Youth Council, where they are able to put forward the views of young people. Furthermore, one year 11 student has recently been elected as a Hampshire Member of the Youth Parliament (MEP) for the New Forest and Test Valley South. ‘I feel rather special to have been elected for what I feel to be such an important role. After all, if the youth are who we are trying to educate, shouldn’t they be the ones to tell us what works and what doesn’t?’ says Corrina.
Following a citizenship day about fair trade, a group of year 10 students attended a meeting of town council, and presented their findings. After being impressed by such things, they are now working together to attempt to get Ringwood to become a fair trade town. Oliver, one of the students meeting the council at monthly meetings, thinks that: ‘It’s important to realise that there are others out there who aren’t as well off as we are, and we should be trying our best to help them’.
A number of sixth formers went to the district council, to attend an event named ‘Shout About’, as well as a meeting to discuss the Children and Young People’s Plan. They also attended a Leisure Review Panel. Additionally, last year, 14 sixth formers attended a Youth Parliament, accompanied by teams from three other schools. They were each allocated different positions in the Government and Opposition, and held a debate in one of the House of Commons committee rooms on the subject of whether identity cards should be introduced. Some of those students are soon attending a European student conference in Paris.
Students in year 8 spend a day getting to understand the democratic system by holding mock elections, following the formation of ten constituencies. Year 10 hold a Model United Nations Day and are able to voice their opinions on matters that affect things like world health, poverty and peace. Likewise, a group of students are at present involved in preparing a ‘Question Time’ show, organised through a BT and BBC initiative. This allows students to take a more active role, and may interest younger students in politics. They are currently devising the issues to be discussed and who they will invite to be on their panel.
Ringwood School also takes part in Hansard online debates. This allows students to discuss topics set up such as ‘Should smoking be allowed in public places?’ with others their own age and also with representatives from Parliament. Students are actively encouraged to take part in such things, as it allows them to present their views in a somewhat fun manner. Hansard online debates occur five times a year for a two-week period. With new technology, students are able to enter ‘Talk Shops’ which are forums for discussion on the school VLE and this can really help their learning, as well as being fun. Communication is very important and this is a major step forward.
Finally, Ringwood School has set up its own radio station, named ‘RSR live’ (RSR is Ringwood School Radio). This is a radio station for students, by students. Currently, any student on the school network can listen to it, and we have also set up speakers around the school, allowing students to listen to it during their lunch hour. However, in the near future, we hope to expand ‘RSR live’ and hopefully this will allow us to have an impact on the local public, as opposed to just the students. Community radio and internet radio is what we hope to achieve with sufficient funding.
Student voice is an extremely important issue in schools at the moment and we feel that it is an extremely powerful tool to use. School is a place where students can learn skills that will help them to provide for themselves in later life. We’re sure that everyone will agree how important our education is, and how important it is that we are taught properly. And yet people always assume that adults will know how to do this. However, surely it is students who are the ones who know what works best for them and, as it’s them we are trying to help, we should listen to how they think we can help them. If we were to listen to the student voice a lot more, the education system may fit better with students’ needs, allowing them to improve their grades and ultimately improve their future.
Student voice has the potential to make a lot of difference in the way schools are improved, and those improvements maintained to help make school a more enjoyable place for everyone. Although many matters taken up with the school council have made a vast difference to the way the school is run, they are always undertaking new and exciting projects to help make that power go even further.
Although Student voice was created ultimately for students within the school community, there is no reason that dictates its influence should not be spread into a wider community, affecting the student population of Britain, as opposed to that of one school. If student voice were to be established in schools nation-wide, this would have a much greater effect on education and the country as a whole. It would also allow far more students to enjoy and experience the success of such an act.
In conclusion, we believe that student voice should be one of the main influences in learning and teaching techniques. As we have already stated, the students are those most affected by the teaching, so surely they should have a strong input as to what it should be. From here, we hope to be able to make student voice an important factor in our education system. Hopefully, ‘Walks and Talks’ will help us to achieve this by allowing us to clearly present information on what can be done in the future.
Student voice
Prestbury CE Primary School
England, United Kingdom
The school council at Prestbury CE Primary School is very active. The students involved work on issues relating to the environment inside and outside the school, on inter-pupil relationships, learning styles and using entrepreneurial skills for fundraising. They meet the governors every term in the usual governors’ meeting and have a great deal of influence in school life.
See the school’s online conference presentation on its website
Rebecca
Heath Park Business and Enterprise College
England, United Kingdom
(Click here for the Powerpoint presentation)
Student voice
Paul C.
15 years
Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School and Language College
England, United Kingdom
I think, as a student, that a student’s opinion is very important. For example, if the teachers said that there would be a uniform change from red to blue and the majority of students in school didn’t agree, then most teachers wouldn’t care about what us students said. But if they put themselves in our shoes, walking round in a blue uniform and they didn’t like it, then it would changed a.s.a.p. Teachers should consider any student’s opinion, however stupid it sounds to them. I think if more students’ opinions were considered in schools, then schools would be much quieter, in the sense of arguments between teachers and students.
Why is student voice important?
Student Aspiration Team
12-16 years
Penryn College
England, UK
What difference will giving students a voice have?
• You can change relationships between people.
• You can make a student behavioural charter (like we have done). It gives school a good reputation.
• You can help to create rules (improves student relationships with teachers and student relationships with each other).
• Teachers have to listen to students’ ideas and try to put them across.
• More people are likely to respect their own rules.
• It gives us a feeling of freedom.
• Make us a bigger part of the school.
• Students can express their own views and opinions.
Why is your voice important?
• We are part of the school.
• We’re the future.
• It’s our education.
• So you can get everyone’s opinion across.
• Because we are a part of this school, and it expresses your feelings and ideas.
What could staff do to support your voice?
• Listen, and take it further.
• We have an aspirations coach, who is a member of staff who listens to our ideas and takes them to the senior teachers.
What things do you want to have a say on?
• the rules in school;
• how we learn;
• punishments;
• new teachers; and,
• new buildings.
Which students should be given a voice?
• Every student should be given a voice, especially bullies or victims of bullies.
• A person who can take it on and take it seriously, and who works hard at school.
Student voice at Penryn College
These are the types of things we have done.
• Lessons: we have more of a say of what subjects we do. Students were consulted before MFL became optional subjects.
• Bullying/discrimination: we have been trained by anti-bullying in Cornwall and have set up an anti-bullying drop-in clinic.
• Uniform: the introduction of hoodies for year 10 and 11 and shorts in the summer.
• Created a student charter, showing students how to behave.
• Created a rewards system for students who stick to the charter.
• Interviewed staff who apply for jobs.
• Restructured student council so that is representative of more children. The council changed the uniform, gained more lockers and a drinks machine and gave us advice about the first day of term.
• All students have taken the ‘My Voice’ questionnaire twice, to show staff what they think about school and education. Their responses have been acted upon – the school spent two years trying to increase a sense of belonging within the school and increase fun and excitement.
• All students have taken part in focus groups twice, where they were asked open-ended questions about the school.
• Six tutor group lessons were led by student aspiration team members, who asked all students how we could improve student-to-student relationships within the school. Many of their responses have been acted on.
• Students have taken part in, and led, staff meetings.
• Students have come into morning briefing to share information.
• Students have made presentations to governor’s meetings.
• The girls’ PE group helped to change the food in the canteen.
• Students will be consulted about the new school building, its facilities and contents.
Overall, students are actively involved in many of the decision-making processes of the school.
The importance of student voice
Rebecca P., Robert Y., Daniel B., Thomas B. & Simon Y.
14-17 years
Davenant Foundation School
England, United Kingdom
We all know that sometimes it seems that teachers are from a completely different planet. We’ve all avoided eye-contact when we’ve seen a teacher outside of school, surprised that they actually enter into a supermarket or a clothes shop and wondering how they pull off having a normal conversation or having friends. In school, we have often wondered if they had all their memory of school life wiped out, and if not, why on earth they have chosen this or that teaching method. What’s more, what they’re telling me is distinctly uninteresting.
This gap that has formed, between what the teachers think about school and teaching, and what the students think, has been getting bigger. And so the proposal of the Government is to actively engage students in the policy-making processes of primary and secondary schools. They want to encourage a dialogue with young people that will inform educational policy and planning. Student voice is the most effective way of doing this that they found.
The Government aims for student voice to be running effectively and successfully all around the country very soon. It believes that student voice has a very high potential and is necessary in every school in the country. What does it plan to do and what will it achieve? In the ‘Personalising Learning-2’ pamphlet for November 2004, it tells us that one of its main aims is to understand and to do something about: ‘how students come to play a more active role in their education and schooling as a direct result of teachers becoming more attentive, in sustained or routine ways, to what students have to say about their experience of learning and of school life.’
At the heart of student voice is the Government’s aims to improve student voice. To summarise these:
• set the student at the centre of change;
• enhance the capacity of the student to focus on, and be active in, their own learning;
• ensure that education is user-led;
• respond directly to student needs and preferences in the way teaching and learning is organised;
• be aware of the student as an individual; and,
• provide tangible evidence that their voice is heard.
With these in mind, it is the students and teachers objective to work together as a team to run the school smoothly, with students having an ongoing say in what goes on in the life of the school. The Government recognises that both students and teachers may be put in positions of vulnerability, and they will try to help both parties in overcoming their fears and seeing the possibilities that student voice opens up in today’s education.
The student voice is a union for students, in the same way there is an NUS (National Union of Students) and an NUT (National Union of Teachers) and there are political links that the student voice could have in order to optimise its effectiveness.
A critical direct link that has already been made is that there are certain student voice groups that have been able to attend the fringe meetings of major political parties. This means that the student voice is having an immediate political impact. Furthermore, these students could have the opportunity to lobby politicians. (This means pressing them with opinions to get what you want!) The force of the student voice, as a group directly involved with political leaders, is likely to have a direct effect on education around the country, as well as raising the opinion and status of the student voice movement.
The famous ‘education, education, education’ statement suggests that it is a key part of how the Government wishes our country to grow, so it is constantly looking into changing the curriculum. Who better to give an opinion than the students themselves? Even at this moment, with student voice in its early years, there is a group looking at the future of the teaching of English over the next 10 years. This is the first time that students have been consulted before the curriculum has been changed.
Not only does student voice have a place in the curriculum but also in the life of the school as a whole. As we know, this past year has been the year of Jamie Oliver and his campaign to make school lunches healthier. This campaign has had a major impact, pushing along the ban on vending machines and fizzy drinks in schools and raising to the nation’s attention that the diet regime in schools should be healthy, as an essential part of society. A student voice group would have the power to report back to the Government on what is actually happening in schools, and make sure that all the recommendations made are actually being carried through.
The student voice has a greater role than just school lunches; there are many other issues that student voice will become a part of, in trying to improve or solve problems. In the news recently, for example, there have been reports about how religion should, or shouldn’t, be allowed to be expressed in school, with the case of a girl who was suspended for wearing her headscarf, which was a part of her religious expression. A case like this can easily make it into the European Court of Justice, and so if the student voice can start to take up matters like this, students will be able to affect school rules, even those that may apply nation-wide.
At the moment, many schools, like ours, have a school council. The idea behind school council is that year council representatives consult their form before a year council meeting and then propose any views they have received to the year council. The council then decides what to put to the school council and, after the school council and then the year council meetings have happened, it is the form’s year council representative’s responsibility to feed back the outcome of the meetings to those students who are not part of the process.
There are many good things about school council. There are, however, a few drawbacks. Firstly, there are a lot of gaps in communication, which means that any progress is not logged, giving the impression that the council is not changing anything, because we are not being informed of the changes that have been made. School council also relies on attendance, which is also quite low. This is often because ideas are discussed repeatedly and so the value of attending is not seen to be high. It is also widely believed that only small changes are made and that all the changes of considerable size, or to do with curriculum or teaching, are still made by the staff. This is where student voice could bridge the gap and let students have more of a say in what they are learning. Student voice will act as more of a forum for instigating new initiatives and discussing the fundamental aspects of education and schooling for the whole nation, as opposed to the smaller issues within the lives of individual schools.
The aim of the student voice is not to replace the school council but to cover a wider spectrum of issues and to work more directly with higher authorities than the school councils are able to deal with. Student voice does not aim to create a group of students from each school with all the power but aims to be an initiative incorporating the views of all students. No doubt, it will learn from the faults of school councils, and with that knowledge and a raised profile, the achievements of student voice are currently unimaginable.
A culture of student voice
Carissa T.
17 years
Eltham College of Education
Melbourne, Australia
In year eight, at the age of fourteen, I was elected as a class representative, excited for the year ahead, as I was one step closer to being a part of the middle school council. Weeks went by and nothing had been said or mentioned about the council. Eventually, I took the initiative of approaching my year level teachers, who explained to me that the council would not be happening this year. As a student of year eight, I was at the stage where I believed, and was convinced, that my voice was important and should be heard. I believed that, although younger then our senior school students, the middle school were just as important and held the same rights to have our opinions heard. Finally, I decided to contact the Principal, Dr David Warner, directly to address what I believed to be a contradictory issue. He told me to work towards forming a committee for the next year. Today we have made this dream a reality; and this is, in essence, what student voice is about.
Schooling is not only about feeding knowledge into young people, but is about developing and strengthening all skills that will be used in the present but, most importantly, the future. Eltham College of Education has worked hard to implement student voice throughout the whole school, including the junior years. By having student voice within a school, it achieves shared knowledge and ideas. The school becomes more flexible, whilst the relationships between staff and student grow and develop.
‘Why is student voice important?’ Asking this question to a student, you gain the answer: ‘School is a place for students and should suit students’ needs and also teachers.’ A school is an environment that should allow students to feel free to learn and accommodate to the realistic needs of the individual, not necessarily the beliefs of its teachers. Student voice is a means to break away from the traditional learning environment; a setting can limit students with natural ability, but also stop the developing process for learning these new skills.
In recently questioning our teachers on what student voice means to them, I received replies such as: ‘It raises the confidence of students’; ‘Everyone’s capable of ideas, including students and teachers’ and ‘Student voice is the way in which students voice their opinion and understanding of how the school conducts its business’. Teachers are accommodating the idea that students are responsible for their personal learning and should therefore hold some responsibility for the environment and the manner in which this is done.
As a society, we are moving away from the traditional way of schooling. We, as young people, are realising that we can make a difference in an ever-developing world. Our voices are important and, when respected and listened to, can help with the functions of an educational institute. Throughout our schooling we need to be guided in developing these vital lifelong skills. This can be done in numerous ways, such as guidance by teachers in meetings and organisation but, most importantly, direction by older students. Student voice brings the school community together by means of discussion, problem-solving and working out solutions in a functional environment, thus forming strong relationships with fellow peers but, most importantly, our educators.
Student voice is not simply an event, it’s a way of life
Jason H.
16 years
Court Fields Community School
England, United Kingdom
(Jason's audio)
I have been pretty manic over the last couple of days. In a couple of weeks my school, Court Fields Community School, in Wellington, Somerset, is holding its first student voice conference. The conference will be happening on one day, and schools from places such as London and Essex will all be coming down to see what student voice projects we have developed and how they have transformed learning in my school in such a big way.
Reflecting back two-and-a-half-years ago, the school, I believe, was a totally different culture. It was a fact that the school council meetings weren’t held that regularly and most of the student voice activities that happened were led by the head boy and the head girl. Now, I believe there is a greater sense of community in the school. The senior teacher leadership team is not alone now – there is now a student leadership team.
There have been so many projects that have happened in the school (many student-led). However here are a couple which I think are incredibly important.
School council
At the start of the academic year, what was clear was that the year heads were running and chairing the year council meetings. Each year group have their own year council meeting, with representatives taking key points from the meeting to the school council, who then collate the points together and decide which actions to take from them.
So what did we do? The fellow chair of the school council and I sent out ‘info packs’ to each of the year heads for them to read out to their year council. What we said was that a chair, vice-chair and a secretary should be elected. Thus, helping the year councils in future to be more independent and, ultimately, more proactive with the council itself.
A couple of days later, we held the school’s first training session for these newly elected roles in the year council. Year council representatives, who had also been elected, also came to the meeting. We worked through issues such as how to write minutes, agendas, and so on. We also worked on ‘key pointers’ of how to talk to adults when proposing ideas - the key idea being that proposals need to be SMART, that is:
Specific. For example, saying ‘lessons suck’ doesn’t really propose anything! Perhaps proposing more use of technology in the classes could be a more specific proposal.
Measurable. How are you going to know if it is a success? This isn’t just saying whether the thing was completed. For example: ‘We got new sports equipment’. However, its better to make it clear whether the whole project was a success (‘Since we got new sports equipment 60% of people have used it, 85% of people feel the playground is a better area to be in’.)
Action-orientated. Instead of just saying: ‘We want this . . .’, why not say: ‘We will organise this'. ..’
Realistic. As much as student voice is fantastic, asking for a ‘brand new school’ isn’t really going to happen just like that. If you propose realistic ideas, you will probably earn greater respect from adults.
Time Limited. Set deadlines, so you can see whether progress is being made. Who is going to do what, by when? ‘Someone is going to find out what year 9 think about the GCSEs available’ will not get done. However, ‘By next meeting Hassan is going to find out what year 9 think about the GCSEs available’ will do - or Hassan’s in trouble come next meeting!
These different elements we talked about in this important meeting. The outcome was immediately noticeable – the year 9s organised their own assemblies, where students gave their pledges to their respective year about why they should be the school council representative of their year and why they should be voted in for this position. These elections were all student-led and it wasn’t the teachers who suggested this should happen. It was the students themselves who had been present at the meeting.
At the school council meeting, also, instead of students simply suggesting: ‘My year would like this to happen’, they are saying things like: ‘My year would like this to happen, and we have already begun to make this happen by doing this’. I really hope you will share in my joy at hearing this – only a year before, every single school council meeting was filled up with the topic of . . . you guessed it – toilets!
Links with the governors
I was lucky enough to be asked to join a governing panel of the school about a year ago now. This panel dealt with the community side of the school and because my school is a Technology College, we look at how this specialism can be shared amongst the community.
The people on this panel include a representative from the local bed manufacturing company, two representatives from two respective local colleges and a couple of other people from the community who have an interest in this field.
Since I have started attending this panel, I had given form input on a wide range of issues including how the school can help with the building of a state-of-the-art computer suite for the workers at the bed company and how lecturers can come to the school to give talks on issues to the students.
This has been really successful. Then, my fellow chair and I wrote a letter to the teaching and learning governing committee of the school, to ask whether they could possibly allow a couple of student governors to attend their meetings. Success – they said that would be fine, and with full voting rights! My fellow chair and I will be attending the first meeting to further introduce the initiative and to propose various ways that governors can be linked up to the school council more.
In the original letter we proposed whether an adult governor could come to School Council meeting, and so far so good, it is proving to be successful with the governor giving governors points of view on the issues being discussed at the School Council meeting.
At the meeting my fellow chair and I will be attending soon, we will be asking whether we can have a greater presence in school publications (including governor annual reports) and whether we, as a school council, can have a greater input into major decisions agreed by the committee.
Faculty subjects and student consultations
You can imagine my delight as I heard that the subject of science in the school had allowed some students to their faculty meetings. After all, this subject had not had the best results (if I was honest) and was one of the under-developing areas of the school.
Students volunteered themselves to be on the faculty and I am incredibly pleased to say that this aspect has made a big difference. For example, students attending the faculty meetings said that in lessons, when they were asked to copy something down from the board into their books, the teacher was talking at the same time. They said that this was an incredibly hard thing for them to do. So the head of science ran a training session with the science teachers. She wrote maths equations on the board, while the other teachers at the same time had to work them out and write down each one on a piece of paper they had each. The head of science, meanwhile, carried on talking. The results? The science teachers begun to know how the students must feel when they have to do these two things at once. Result!
The next project to be run by the science faculty was to allow a group of students in the higher years of the school to ask students from the lower years what they think about the subject/how can it be improved, and so on. This is going to new depths with student voice and, through each of these different projects, it’s noticeable that the subject is continually getting better and better results. This is not by accident!
So, there we have it. That’s only three major student voice projects that students have been involved with in the school. It’s so clear that these different aspects are having an incredible effect on the students. Subject results are getting better and better, the school (I believe) is becoming more of a community, with a sense of openness between students and teachers. Finally, students actually want to come to school to take part in these student voice projects!
For Court Fields, student voice is not simply an event, it’s a way of life for the school.
For more information, please visit our new website at: www.cfcscouncils.blogspot.com
Our Say
Kelsey B.
Overnewton Anglican Community College
Melbourne
Australia
View Kelsie's PowerPoint by clicking here
What difference will giving students a voice make?
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Sonia
12 years
Leanyer School
Darwin, Australia |
I think that giving students a voice is quite important because different people have different ideas and suggestions. When you combine all these suggestions you get a good point of view and their suggestions should be considered for public opinion. Students can express their feelings and point of view freely in their own words, which can give a better picture of what a student feels about things. When parents and teachers come together, they do things for the students, they plan things for the students, but they never discuss the plans with the students before putting into action. This way the students do not get a chance to put in their decisions and that can sometimes be quite unfair. So giving students a voice gives them a better chance to improve the way of doing things in school and everyday life.
Students know what’s needed
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Nerida
12 years
Leanyer Primary School
Darwin, Australia |
Student voice is an important way to find things out, like what to change in the school because we’re the ones studying there. Students will know if there are enough playgrounds or if we need more undercover areas. There is also the case where parents and teachers normally work out the children’s future but it’s the child’s’ life, so they should be part of it. If students help set the course for doing something they are going to want to do it more than if it is set for them.
Why is student voice important?
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Anika
12 years
Leanyer Primary School
Darwin, Australia |
Right now, many schools around the world are changing the way they do things, the way their school’s are organized, the way the daily routines are continued. I know my school is changing a lot, but not in the ways that might make our school the place students always want it to be. What will the voice of a student change?
If schools were run by kids, it would be made out of chocolate, lollies and fairy floss (and not to mention, for most, teachers would not exist). If schools were run by kids and teachers, both would enjoy school a lot more. Of course, schools are not going to be run by students, but what can happen is the ideas of students and teachers combine, so the voice of a student may also be heard.
The result, happy educators, happy educated kids. A kid thinking for kids will know what makes the students happy and what makes the students want to go home. I know my friends and I like to play our games, which include running in places that are now walking-only passages. Maybe our solution is to compromise, with more grassed areas or free reign on the basketball court? My ideas cannot only make me happy but others happy as well.
Student voice
Davenant Foundation School
United Kingdom
Click here to view their online PowerPoint presentation.
On this page the presentations is under the section 'Online Conference'
Student voice
Nazareth College
Melbourne, Australia
View the students' website by clicking here.
