Listening, Learning and Relationships: An Investigation of How Principals Facilitate Student Voice

The idea that students should play a greater role in their educational experience has emerged with fervor over the past twenty years. The importance of consulting students about their views of school and learning is not only progressively more accepted, it is becoming inscribed within policies and directives. Student voice is defined as pedagogies in which youth have the opportunity to influence decisions that will shape their lives and those of their peers inside and outside of school settings. The research shows an abundance of benefits that consulting students offers to both the students themselves and to schools. Lacking in the literature is research specifically examining the role of the school administrator in student voice initiatives. This qualitative study sought to investigate the experiences of elementary administrators who were committed to student voice. Twelve administrators from a variety of school boards in Ontario were interviewed about their experiences facilitating student voice. It was found that participants used similar strategies, and experienced comparable supports and constraints. When examining the external constraints, a richer picture emerged, which led to the examination of the student experience using a spectrum of student voice proposed by Toshalis and Nakkula (2012). Based on this, four participants were examined in further detail because they were the only administrators who experienced student voice within the classroom domain. The importance of bringing student voice into the classroom domain is discussed. The role relationships play in student voice was highlighted; parents, teachers, administrators, and of course students all impact student voice initiatives. In order for partnerships to happen, various stakeholders need to play a role, and thus suggestions are offered. Recommendations have been made for teaching the necessary skills to students, professional development for staff, parent involvement, suggestions for boards and Ministry and the necessity for developing the climate of the school. When relationships are at their best, it is more likely that student voice will meaningfully occur in both the school and the classroom domains.Ed.D