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Mr Bernard Trafford Wolverhampton Grammar SchoolWolverhampton, England, United Kingdom
In 2001 Derry Hannam was commissioned by the UK Department for Education and Employment to study twelve schools that could describe themselves as ' student participative ' , in order to establish whether the positive encouragement of the student voice (and the resulting student participation) contributed to raising standards.
Hannam ' s report finds that the twelve schools did unequivocally achieve ' higher than expected levels of attainment at GCSE ' (Hannam, 2001, p.63). To those of us with experience of engaging with the student voice, his findings come as no surprise. In short:
Where school students are invited, encouraged - indeed, expected - to use their voice, and are allowed to do so without artificial limits, school improvement indeed occurs, and dramatically so. For example, whenever pupils are involved in discussion and formulation of school rules, those rules are better kept:
' Rules are better kept by staff and students if democratically agreed to in the first place. Communications in the school are improved. There is an increased sense of responsibility of staff and pupils have more control over their own organisation . . . overcoming the ' them and us ' alienation in most schools… [and] the need to create a sense of belonging ' . (Harber, 1995, p.11)
Professor Clive Harber, of the University of Birmingham, takes this argument further:
' Achievement is higher where students take responsibility for their own learning . . . Students in effective schools are treated with dignity and encouraged to participate in the organisation of the school. ' (Harber, 1996, p.48)
Professor Audrey Osler (University of Leicester), in investigating schools that have successfully reduced exclusions, finds that these are schools that are student-participative and use the student voice:
' …Schools which had successfully reduced exclusions had involved pupils, as well as carers, in discussing good behaviour and discipline. They had effective structures for involving children in management and decision-making, such as school or class councils ' . (Osler 1997)
Some of the most telling research with regard to behaviour, attendance and exclusions is reported by Professor Lynn Davies, also of Birmingham University, in an important piece of work linking school councils with reduced levels of school exclusions (Davies 1998). She finds that, where pupils feel they are listened to, where they have a stake in the whole education process, they are less likely to suffer feelings of alienation, to play truant or to be excluded.
They feel safer, happier. The ethos is inclusive, not exclusive: the active student voice acts against bullying and intolerance of difference. For example, five years after the creation of a Student Council in my school, students who had experienced the change found that:
The presence of an active and effective student/school council (the formal forum for expression of the student voice) constantly reminds everyone (teachers, other staff, parents and pupils) that the school is there for the pupils. It creates a democratic atmosphere that is, by its very nature, a powerful tool in raising motivation. Hannam makes an explicit link between the warmer, more relaxed teacher-pupil relationship that comes with student participation and the resulting improvement in academic (and other) standards:
' Involvement in student participative activities brings real benefits to relationships between students and teachers which can, in turn, enhance attainment ' . (Hannam, 2001, p.8)
A ' happy ' , participative school doesn ' t have to be an unchallenging one. This is not about being merely nice to children. It is about a carefully judged, empowering atmosphere where young people are given, and readily make the most of, responsibility. The experience is more positive for all. As a result, self-esteem is raised - again, a key element in school improvement, since confident children with higher levels of self-esteem tend to achieve more highly.
In short, in a school that engages with the student voice:
By every measure, schools that go down the road of developing genuine dialogue with their pupils find that they become more effective. And they are nicer to work in, too, for pupils and adults alike.
It is clear that a school described as participative will have an emphasis on:
What is most distinctive about a participative school, however, is its ethos or atmosphere. The ' feel ' is democratic displays characteristics that are almost tangible, including mutual respect, a willingness to change one ' s mind, co-operation, autonomy, justice and commitment to diversity and equity.
The existence of an effective school council (which I take as an inevitable element in encouraging the student voice) makes a statement about the school and its attitude to students. The principle of open management and the right of children to express their views and concerns, while respecting the rights of others not to be damaged by such expression, are both enshrined and made real by the presence of an active council. The right to a voice in the way the school operates is shown to be real for staff and students, and thus begins to permeate the fabric of school life.
Sally Inman and Helena Burke (2002, p.9) of South Bank University, in carrying out research for the teachers ' union, ATL, received comments about the ethos (from year 11 students in a participative school) along these lines:
Inman and Burke continue:
' From the observations and interviews, we observed an underlying culture of respect and equality between members of the school community. We observed a politeness and respect in the manner that staff talked to students. We saw staff opening doors for students, and vice-versa, as a matter of routine practice. The corridors were largely free of stress and tension but rather were spaces where people engaged in communication ' . (2002, p.49)
At the heart of this ethos it is clear that there lies deep respect between everyone in the school, teachers, students, other staff and indeed all others (not least parents) who become involved in the school atmosphere. Teachers evidently like and respect their pupils and set examples of politeness and respect. This creates a virtuous circle.
' It is saying to the student body, you are the most important people in the school. ' (Davies, 1998, p.13)
Developing the student voice is more than just asking students what they think about things. An active student council will, for sure, discuss the chips (if they ' re soggy), or indeed whether chips should even be allowed for health reasons. It will certainly exercise scrutiny of the toilets! It takes an act of courage and faith from teachers and school leaders, however, if the greatest power of the student voice is to be harnessed, that of its ability to inform and improve what happens in the classroom.
This is perhaps the hardest arena in which to make real and lasting change. Yet it is, of course, where learning, which must be at the heart of school improvement, is centred. It is all too easy for that to be the last thing to change. It is one thing for teaching staff, as a group, to agree upon the goal of getting students to take more responsibility for their learning. It is another for them to stick to that agreement, as individuals, in their relationships within the classroom.
Despite the spread of observation, sharing good practice, the growing use of classroom assistants, video-linked lessons and a host of other changes, the classroom largely remains the teacher ' s personal fiefdom. It is not that teachers are necessarily anti-democratic, though a few may be nervous of truly embracing it in the context of their specialist teaching. Students, too, may be keen on the democratic idea but still want to leave the responsibility for their learning with teachers. In many ways, that kind of dependency can be the easier, less challenging path for both.
But, if the power of the student voice can be brought to bear on, or in, the classroom, then radical school improvement can be achieved, and in the best of possible ways, with all of the participants involved and working together. Teachers can try using participative strategies in the classroom: Circle Time, even in its most basic form, can be a powerful tool for structuring discussion; review of what has been learnt, brainstorming for new ideas, and so on. Paul Ginnis, in his superb book The Teacher ' s Toolkit (2002), provides a host - indeed, a lifetime ' s experience - of participative teaching and learning strategies for teachers to adopt.
The school as a whole can harness the power of the student voice and focus it on teaching and learning. A couple of years ago, my school carried out a huge consultation exercise as part of a new development plan (described in Trafford 2003, p.24ff). Questionnaires were issued to all the 730 students, and to all their parents, as well as to teaching and non-teaching staff. That is not so extraordinary, but what was most exciting in the process (yet unthinkable, I am sure, even a few years ago) is the way in which we progressed to engaging in real dialogue with our students about teaching styles, and how all the things we teachers do in the classroom and provide elsewhere were helping with their learning - or weren ' t.
One would think that I ' d be beyond surprise by now. However, every time I have tried to systematically seek student views, I ' ve been amazed by their willingness to engage in reasoned discussion and analyse strengths and weaknesses. I have been impressed by their acknowledgment of teachers ' difficulties and frustrations but at the same time, their preparedness to give teachers credit and thanks for the good they do.
Each time we undertake such consultation, I guess we push the boundaries further and raise the expectations higher. We had never done this before, at least, never so explicitly, nor in such depth.
Going into year assemblies and forming focus groups, we discussed and assessed the effectiveness of our teaching styles and strategies. We were carefully talking about teaching, not teachers. We weren ' t trying to find out which teachers students didn ' t like but, rather, wanted to know what there was in the teaching we provided that worked, and what didn ' t.
We wanted to know what students enjoyed and what left them cold. The acceptance of this approach by the teaching staff lay, I think, in the fact that we were well used to inviting our students ' views. There was already a depth of trust in the experience gained by our students, over the years, in the skills and manners of serious debate. So, if there was nervousness about the process among my colleagues, I didn ' t feel it. Instead, I sensed a strong commitment to planning a future for the school, a future concerned with making itself even more responsive to the needs of its students, and still better as a result.
The level of trust in the school that nowadays allows a discussion about teaching to take place without fear has taken time to build - a decade, in truth. Yet, a couple of years on, we now know that it is time to form the focus groups again, and to see how much progress we have made. This is involving the students directly, and centrally, in the process of school improvement.
There are safeguards. Teachers and students know that, by convention, individuals will not be named. That has been the procedure in the school council for many years, and the way in which people are protected by that has been demonstrated many times. At the same time, the students who are airing their views have also seen proof, over the years, that their opinions will be accorded respect and that we will act on their recommendations where we can, and explain where we cannot. So mutual trust encourages fruitful dialogue to take place.
Do the students really appreciate what is going on here? I believe they do, and their sanguine appreciation of what is being asked of them contributes to the value of their suggestions and critiques. The current elected Chair of my school ' s Council, Becky Griffiths (a year 12 student), wrote as recently as July 2004 about the value of student participation:
' When a student is dissatisfied with a form of teaching or an aspect of their school life, their natural reaction is to complain to anybody they can and possibly misbehave to make their point. The beauty of having a democratic council is that a student can bring their problem to it and their opinion on the matter is quizzed. Not only do they have to explain exactly what they feel is wrong, they are not allowed to leave it at that but are asked if they can think of any method of improvement. This practice means that not only will students not make any empty complaints, but if they have a practical, beneficial idea and moves are made to remedy their problem, they feel as if they have really achieved something and given back to the school.
This is also valuable in the sense that some students have extremely valid ideas that governors or teachers would never have thought of, and pooling initiative results in extremely valuable changes. There are many examples of this having occurred in our own student council… ' .
It is challenging for us as teachers when, with disarming honesty and not a little charm, students describe the futility of a long-favoured teaching strategy. Yet, even in the 21st Century, with all the wonders of modern ICT at our disposal, we teachers can be reluctant to abandon the comfort of obsolete and de-motivating teaching techniques, such as the dictation of notes! That is, until we hear them deconstructed lucidly and rationally by our pupils, within the civilised discourse of a proper discussion forum. As Becky writes above, however, students can also be challenged to provide viable alternatives. At one discussion in my school, students outlined precisely what worked for them. Instead of note-taking they asked to have the notes as PowerPoint presentations, printed out and circulated at the start so that they could annotate and mark all over them during the course of the lesson - making the information, and thus the learning, their own.
In conclusion, then, a participative school, one that harnesses the student voice, becomes almost inevitably a better school. The accumulating evidence of the power of the student voice is now overwhelming. When schools empower their pupils in this way, they become improved schools. They are happier, more productive and more effective. Exam results are better. There are reduced levels of alienation and truancy. The whole process is happier for everyone - and the results improve, too. It ' s a win-win arrangement.
To embark on anything new, most of us need to be able to answer the question, ' What ' s in it for me? ' What ' s in pupil participation for teachers, for students, for schools - for everyone - is a better experience for everyone. School improvement for all.
Davies, L. (1998). School Councils and Pupil Exclusions, Birmingham, Centre for International Education and Research, University of Birmingham (available via School Councils UK at: www.schoolcouncils.org).
Ginnis, P. (2002). The Teacher ' s Toolkit: Raise classroom achievement with strategies for every learner, Carmarthen, Crown House Publishing.
Hannam, D.H. (2001). A Pilot Study to Evaluate the Impact of the Student Participation Aspects of the Citizenship Order on Standards of Education in Secondary Schools, London, Community Service Volunteers (CSV).
Harber, C. (ed.) (1995). Developing Democratic Education, Ticknall, Education Now Books.
Harber, C. (1996). Small Schools and Democratic Practice, Nottingham, Educational Heretics Press.
Inman, S. and Burke, H. (2002). Schools Councils: An apprenticeship in democracy? London, Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).
Osler, A. (1997). Report in Times Education Supplement, 10/10/97, on CRE report Exclusion from School and Racial Equality: A Good Practice Guide London, Commission for Racial Equality.
Trafford, B. (1997). Participation, Power-Sharing and School Improvement, Nottingham, Educational Heretics Press.
Trafford, B. (2003). School Councils, School Democracy, School Improvement: Why, what, how? Leicester, Secondary Heads Association.
Mr Bernard Trafford is Headteacher of Wolverhampton Grammar School, in Wolverhampton, England, United Kingdom.
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