pupil voice
DESCRIPTION
A presentation about Pupil Voice in EducationTRANSCRIPT
What do we know about successfully harnessing student voice in schools?
Cass Unit Seminar DCSF, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London
October 23rd, 20072.00pm – 4.00pm
Professor Michael FieldingInstitute of Education, University of London
Dr Bethan MorganTeaching Associate
Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge
Presentation Structure
Section 1: Overview: Michael Fielding
Section 2: Findings from the TLRP Network and Related
Projects: Donald McIntyre & Bethan Morgan
Section 3 The Way Forward: all presenters
Recent Contexts
Changing view of childhood UN Convention on Rights of the Child 1989 School improvement OfSTED Inspection framework Citizenship + Healthy Schools Consumerism Children’s Commissioner Work of Professor Jean Rudduck 19-21C educational imaginary (David Hargreaves) Factory personalised education for all Segregated roles overlapping roles Producer led user led
Immediate Contexts
Government Legalisation / Initiatives / Research Every Child Matters Personalised Learning: The East Sussex Project ‘Real Decision Making? School Councils in Action’ ‘Working Together: Giving children and young people a say’
NGOs / Foundations Esmée Fairbairn / Carnegie YPI
Academic Research + Publications ESRC TLRP ‘Consulting Pupils about T&L’ ESRC Seminars ‘Engaging Critically with PV’ Cumulative work of e.g. Fielding, McIntyre, Rudduck, Thomson Journal Special Issues e.g. Discourse, Educational Action Research,
Forum, Improving Schools, International Journal for Leadership in Education + 2007 International Handbook (Thiessen + Cook-Sather)
Personalised Learning Charles Leadbeater
‘The foundation of a personalised education systemwould be to encourage children, from an early age andacross all backgrounds, to become more involved inmaking decisions about what they would like tolearn and how.’• Choice: users as consumers within institutions, not just
between them e.g. how you learn, what you learn, how you are assessed
• Voice: users as citizens and co-designers of services e.g. Students as Researchers
• Professionals as advisers, advocates, solution assemblers, brokers
Requests for evidence of impact of consultation on pupil achievement ...
• ‘These [requests] cannot be responsibly met before we are sure that schools understand the rationale for developing pupil voice and are implementing it in reasonable ways’ [i.e. not just quick fix surveys in the last few seconds of the lesson]
• ‘There is evidence of the potential of consultation to strengthen pupils’ commitment to learning, but not the kind of proof i.e. a direct cause and effect link – that government has wanted: it is clear that successful implementation depends very much on the culture of the classroom and school and that the approach to consultation and its impact are, therefore, likely to show considerable variation across schools.’
• ‘Nevertheless, in settings where consultation is thoughtfully developed the signs are encouraging.’
Chapter 13 Rudduck & McIntyre (2007 forthcoming)
Range of Student Voice Activities
Peer support
Buddying systems Peer tutoring
Peer teaching Circle timeOrganisational change structures
School councils Student governors
Students on appointment panels
School Improvement Plans e.g. draw-and-write
Healthy Schools OfSTED ECMEngagement with T & L
Lead-learners Classroom observation AfL
Student co-researchers student-led learning walks
‘Students-as-researchers’ Dept development plans
Evaluating work units Classroom consultation
5 perspectives on education
Exposes + challenges deep assumptions. Offers alternatives, often rooted in radical traditions
Challenges the system to
Transcend itRadical
Different slant on existing assumptions, often inspired by new developments in business
Unsettles the system to
Renew itRenewal
Adjustments to existing system in the light of feedback
Champions the system to
Embed itReaffirm
Rejection of the market + return to holistic emphasis
Unsettles the system to
Retrieve itRestorative
Return to ‘proven’ methods + arrangements perceived to
promote social mobility
Unsettles the system to
Correct itCorrective
Student Involvement Typology(1)
Pupil / student attitude surveys
Samples of pupil / student work
Individual performance data
Pupils / Students as
Data Source
Appointment panels
Team agenda + pupil perceptions
AfL lead learnersPupils / Students as
Active Respondents
Joint review of rewards system
CPGS ‘History Dudettes’
Developing independent learning
Pupils / Students as
Co-Enquirers
Low level bullying
Is playground buddying system working?
What Makes a Good Lesson?
Pupils / Students as
Knowledge Creators
Staff + pupil / student Learning Walks
Develop unit /department research lesson
Co-plan Maths Lesson
Pupils / Students + Adults as Co-authors
Joint Enquiry
SchoolUnit / TeamClassroom
Student Involvement Typology (2)
PISA surveySamples of pupil / student work
SATs + Exam data
Pupils / Students as
Data Source
Advocate youth parliaments / student councils
Consultation on 14-19 learner entitlement
Pupils / Students as
Active Respondent
Welsh Children’s
Commissioner – ‘Funky Dragon’
School-led anti-bullying week
Pupils / Students as
Co-Enquirers
OBESSUOrganising Bureau of European School Students Unions
ESSAEnglish Secondary School Students’ Association
Portsmouth SV conference ‘respect’ project
Pupils / Students as Knowledge
CreatorsPupils / Students +
Adults as Co-authors
Joint Enquiry
InternationalNationalLocal Authority
Student / pupil voice & Students
Develop capacity to reflect on learning greater control over how you learn + how to improve it
Respected, listened to + taken seriously positive sense of self
Views make a difference to how things are done in school + classroom change agentry
New capacity to take on roles + responsibilities Sense of belonging - more positive membership of
class + school See teachers differently
Student / pupil voice & Teachers
Being positively surprised by students more open perception of young people’s capabilities and attitudes
Experiencing + enjoying a different way of working with students renewed sense of excitement in teaching
Positive agenda for improvement insights that help their professional development
Seeing positive changes as a result of student voice engagement
Student / pupil voice & Schools
A practical agenda for change that teachers + pupils can identify with
Better engagement with school and school learning (students + staff)
Enhanced mutual respect, trust + recognition between pupils and teachers
Improved teaching + learning Developing a distinct ethos and identity for the
school Developing the school as a learning organisation /
community
Ongoing challenges (1)
Current context - teacher tensions
Conflict between responsiveness to pupils and the nationally imposed agenda
Pressures of time + curriculum coverage Lack of institutional support Beyond pockets of isolated practice (role of LA +
national + international networks) Consumerism or democratic agency? e.g. “You’re
no good, no bullet points, too much thinking, not thick enough files”
Ongoing challenges (2)
Using students? Refusing the role of ‘quality assurance donkeys’ Ventriloquising predictable outcomes / teacher
approved ideas ‘Beating up’ teachers?
National context over time … Class, race, gender, inclusion Ability grouping +labelling (inc. institutional)
Taking ‘student voice’ seriously (1)
Purposes + Values Why is this work being encouraged / resisted? In whose interests? How does it connect with policy contexts?
Power + Control Who is allowed to speak? About what? Who gets heard? By whom? Who is listening? Why?
Capacities + Attitudes How are the appropriate skills developed? How do people regard / care for each other? Are they taking it seriously? Do some people feel threatened?
Taking ‘student voice’ seriously (2)
Systems + structures Appropriate systems and structures? Public /communal, as well as smaller, more intimate
spaces to make meaning of recommendations and decide what should be done?
Action + Responsibilities What actually happens? Who decides? Who has responsibility for embedding the change? How do we hold ourselves / each other to account? How is the change monitored and evaluated? By
whom?
Section 2
Findings from the TLRP Network and
Related Projects
Professor Donald McIntyre &
Dr Bethan Morgan
Strategies for Classroom Consultation
The seductive attractiveness of ‘informal’ or ‘embedded’ consultation Developing the conditions for trusting dialogue Economy and power Direct consultation, indirect consultation, or pupils as researchers The importance of focusing on the particular The danger of working with selected pupils Guiding principles
What kinds of teachers and teaching do pupils want?
Research studies reveal a very high degree of consensus across pupils, irrespective of age-group, previous success in school, subject or research study:
the centrality of teacher-pupil relationships
humanity, fairness, consistency respect and sensitivity positive attitude and enthusiasm
What kinds of teachers and teaching do pupils want?
Four central and consistent characteristics of pupils’ preferred teaching approaches:
meaningful learning, making connections avoiding tedium togetherness a measure of autonomy
What do pupils say about their own teachers?
Pupils take consultation very seriously They tend to accentuate the positive They are also ready to identify unhelpful practices They suggest modifications, use contrasts, and suggest constructive alternatives
What do pupils say about the social conditions for their classroom
learning? ‘A cacophony of competing voices’*:
Sharp contrast between the consensus about preferred teaching approaches and the strong differences in classroom experiences, even in the same classrooms – differentiation and polarisation
The destructive impact of ability labelling and social class differentiation Gender differences Peer-group relations Lack of control
* Arnot & Reay (2004)
What do pupils say about being consulted?
The great potential of pupil consultation The central importance of teachers’ authentic engagement Thoughts on different methods of consultation The contribution of consultation to learning:
teaching practices that really help learning greater enjoyment leading to better learning improved teacher-pupil relationships
Teachers’ responses to what pupils say
Why have teachers not consulted pupils previously? Teachers impressed by seriousness, insightfulness and constructive nature of pupil comments Teacher criteria in assessing pupil comments:
educational effectiveness validity practicality representativeness
Teachers’ responses to what pupils say
Teachers found little difficulty in identifying a package of pupil ideas that they could use In practice, teachers varied:
in attitudes in their practical situations in their confidence and expertise
The most powerful constraint seems to be perceived conflict between:
responsiveness to pupils and the nationally imposed agenda
The potential impact of consultation on pupils and teachers
Pupils: Changed attitudes to school and to learning Changed perceptions of teachers Stronger sense of school and class membership Developing capacity to reflect on learning New capacity to take on new roles and responsibilities Positive impact on sense of self
The potential impact of consultation on pupils and teachers
Teachers: More open perception of young people’s capabilities
and attitudes Readiness to change thinking Renewed sense of excitement in teaching Practical agenda for improvement
Teacher - pupil relationships: Enhanced mutual respect, trust and recognition
Reservations, anxieties and constraints
From the teacher perspective: Pressures of time and curriculum coverage Lack of institutional support Varied views of the pupils being taught Concerns about possible criticism Balancing individual and group perspectives
From the pupil perspective: Uncertainty about the acceptability of criticising teachers Believing that consultation is for all pupils
Conditions for Developing Classroom Consultation
Conditions in the classroom: trust, respect, recognition
Conditions in the school: An explicit policy commitment within the School Advocacy by institutional leader Enabling structures and practices A school culture that values and listens to all staff A culture of enquiry among teachers A tradition of pupil involvement in decisions
Section 3
Ways Forward . . .
Positive developments (1)
Evidence of reciprocal benefits to students + staff at classroom / team / dept / school levels
Emerging synergy of national policies across departments and sectors driven by:
(a) public service reform (b) need to engage wide range of young people in
political + social renewal
Broadly positive response of professionals, though concerns about other antagonistic aspects of policy (test + performance culture, time demands, curriculum pressure )
Positive developments (2)
Building momentum across the country with certain areas developing significant expertise
A number of universities involved in high quality ‘development & research’ work with schools, LAs and government organisations
NGOs, Foundations and NFP organisations supporting a range of work
Fledgling evidence of radical, prefigurative work against the grain ‘practical conscience of democratic way of life’
Creative Renewal and Radical Changewithin the same educational system
Creative renewal SSAT work on Student Voice ‘Inspiring schools’ network
Radical change future practice nowe.g. Centre for Radical State Education, London Institute
Current practice e.g. The Wroxham School, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire Bishops Park College, Clacton, Essex
Rich legacy of our radical state traditions e.g. Alex Bloom - St George-in-the-East, Stepney, London Teddy O’Neill - Prestolee Elementary School, Stoneclough
Key role of HEI e.g. Universities of Birmingham, Cambridge, East Anglia,
Leicester, London, Manchester, Nottingham, and Sussex + Manchester Metropolitan and Open Universities
Support + sustainabilityClassrooms + Departments
ClassroomsSupport & Sustainability through
Staff (including TAs) pairing / mutual support + observation network within dept and / or within the school
Support from T&L / SV post-holderDepartment / Team / Unit
Departmental commitment through e.g. space at Dept meetings / dept publicity + bulletins / internal cover arrangements
Depts encouraged + resourced centrally
Support + sustainabilitySchool
SLT member with SV responsibility SV embedded at multiple levels and sites of formal
and informal learning SV systemically integrated into ongoing
development and review processes Advocacy + modelling by school leaders School culture that values + listens to all staff Culture of enquiry / research amongst teachers
Support + sustainabilityLocal Authority + Networks
LA development plan Involvement of advisers who can make connections
with other agendas + priorities AST for SV + ‘link teachers’ in schools Emergent structures + cultures Good admin + communication infrastructure Co-constructed SV strategy + capacity-building
approach Link to research base + external practice Explicit synergy + inclusive coherence
Support + sustainabilityNational policy
Replace debilitating performance pressure with enabling, inclusive accountability e.g. Bishops Park College, Clacton ‘Research Forum’ model
Begin to encourage more emergent models of curriculum
Teacher voices - treat teachers as agents, not just objects, of public service reform
Value and support the role of prefigurative practice (future practice now)
Future research (1) Classroom practice + student voice:teaching realities, teacher capacities
Building on earlier, small scale research(e.g. McIntyre & Pedder, Arnot & Reay)
How do teachers incorporate, sustain and make effective use of high-quality organic approaches to SV in their own classrooms?
Teachers need to listen to all pupils. How do these approaches address issues of social class, gender, race and inclusion?
Future research (2) Leadership, SV and the systemic revisioning + renewal of schools
Working with a range of volunteerSenior Leadership Teams
What is the nature and development of high quality systemic support for SV that operates organically at multiple levels in diverse contexts?
Future research (3) External support for student voice
Given the increasing importance of schools’ external networks and support systems in developing
and sustaining creative approaches to education
What can we learn from successfulLA practice (e.g. Bedfordshire, Portsmouth)University engagement (e.g. Cambridge, Sussex)Voluntary sector (e.g. SCUK)
that will enable SV to be embedded and sustained in regional + national networks?
Future research (4) Future practice now
Researching past and current examples of prefigurative practice, i.e. highly creative practice significantly ahead of their time
What can be learned from these inevitably small number of instances about
different ways of working the role and effect of such exemplars on
mainstream educational practice?
Selected References
Arnot, M., McIntyre, D., Pedder, D. & Reay, D. (2004) Consultation in the classroom: Developing dialogue about teaching and learning, (Cambridge, Pearson).
Fielding, M. (2004) ‘New Wave’ student voice and the renewal of civic society London Review of Education Vol.2 No.3 pp 197-217.
Morgan, B. (2007) Consulting Pupils about Classroom Teaching and Learning: policy, practice and response in one school. Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Cambridge.
Rudduck, J. & McIntyre, D. (2007 forthcoming) Improving Learning through Consulting Pupils. London: Routledge.
