5th iNet International Conference, 26 28 November 2008

Student voice is a means of involving students in the organisational structure of the school and engaging them in the school community. At its best it is an effective way to help transform education from the ‘bottom up’, through the co-construction of learning.

Student voice can include - but is not limited to - the following activities:

Student governance

• Student leadership groups
• Student councils
• Student focus/action groups
• Student interviewers
• Student governors
• Youth parliament

Input into teaching and learning

• Student researchers
• Student learning walks
• Curriculum co-construction
• Student websites

Supporting each other

• Peer mentoring
• Student trainers
• Peer counselling
• Student mediation

In schools where student voice is developing successfully, the school’s culture and ethos have been adapted to nurture and support the integration and expansion of student voice activities. Some of these ideas are challenging, and all require careful planning and implementation. The potential, however, is significant; engaging students and involving them at the heart of the learning community that is a personalised school.

Resources

• Introducing student voice and Student voice: training for students and staff CD-ROM toolkits
• Videos from London's Student Voice conference in June 2006 are available to download or subscribe to as a podcast. These include the keynote address by Diane Lewis, on the power of students speaking out using new technology, and interviews with many students who attended the event
• Watch the winning entry of the student personalising schools competition in England
• A more detailed exposition of the ideas, together with case studies of exisiting practice can be found in the Personalising learning 2 pamphlet
• Further case studies looking at how student voice complements some of the other gateways are available in the Deep learning 1 publication

Assessment for learning | Learning to learn | Student voice | Curriculum | New technologies | School design and organisation | Advice and guidance | Mentoring and coaching | Workforce development