Students as partners in the learning process

Students as partners in the learning process Lifelong Learning Programme and Youth in Action Programme Launching Conference 11 November 2010 Amanda Roberts University of Herfordshire

Agenda for this session Students as partners in the learning process • Why involve students? • Student voice? Student participation? Student leadership? • Creating participative learning cultures through student leadership • Programme 1: Supporting Students as Researchers • Programme 2: Supporting Students as Leaders • Challenges and opportunities – for us and for you

Why involve students? • The legislative imperative: • Article 12 of the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN, 1989) • Every Child Matters framework (DfES, 2003) • A New Relationship with Schools (DfES, 2004) • Working Together (DCSF, 2008) • The moral imperative: • Students as the ‘unconsulted majority’ (Frost et al, 2009) • Students as full partners in the enterprise of learning (Frost and MacBeath, 2010) • The pragmatic imperative: • Students as experts on learning and teaching • Structured approach to mobilising 95% in the school improvement process Students as partners in the learning process

Student voice? Student participation?Student leadership? Student voice/consultation: the provision of opportunities for students to express their views, with the expectation that someone will listen although not necessarily act (Rudduck and McIntyre, 2007). Student participation: a development of voice referring to the active involvement of students in decision-making, in evaluating their own learning and in taking on positions of responsibility within the school (Demetriou and Rudduck,2004). Student research: a development of participation where students identify and respond to something which matters to them, rather than just commenting on the concerns of others. Student leadership: a further development of participation, where students are supported in exercising leadership and become partners in the learning, teaching and school improvement process. What language is used to talk about student engagement in your organisation? Does the language used matter? Students as partners in the learning process

Creating participative learning cultures through student leadership • Student leadership: • an aspect of distributed leadership: recognises that leadership involves collaborative and interactive behaviour • involves capacity building: developing a professional culture in which self-evaluation, innovation and improvement are both valued and facilitated • challenges notion that leadership arises from hierarchical positioning, focusing on leadership roles rather than leadership positions • based on premise that a successful school is one in which the maximum degree of leadership is exercised by the maximum number of people including teachers, pupils, support staff, etc (Sergiovanni, 1992) • not about authority to take decisions but about influence • (Frost, 2010) Students as partners in the learning process

Programme 1: Students as Researchers Students as partners in the learning process

Aims of the programme • The Students as Researchers programme is designed to: • provide an opportunity for students to articulate their views about learning and teaching, developing their understanding whilst working in partnership with teachers • develop students’ ability to influence school policy and practice in a positive manner • develop students’ confidence and self-esteem Students as partners in the learning process

The role of the co-researcher • Co-researchers work alongside students to help them to: • Formulate their plans at each step of the journey • Make contact with staff and students whose views they are interested in • Organise the gathering of their data • Produce a report/poster/powerpoint presentation etc. to share what they have learned • Plan how they will use what they have learned to contribute to make a difference Students as partners in the learning process

Symbols to support students’ learning journey Students as partners in the learning process I want my maths teacher to listen to what students say about learning. I also hope we get to do more fun activities in maths Using the iconic representation of new learning to build student understanding at a conceptual level (Bruner, 1966)

Supporting teachers on the journey Students as partners in the learning process • Programme led by a lead teacher • Teachers’ notes and resources are set out in the programme • Resources are provided on a CD

Emphasising impact Students as partners in the learning process

Action planning to make a difference Students as partners in the learning process • Students assess the impact of their work so far to help them to plan for the future • Students share what they have discovered with the school community • Teachers feed back to student researchers – what they (teachers) have agreed to do; what the students have agreed to do

Evaluative comments We have to use learners more successfully to help us to develop our understanding of learning and teaching. There’s a recognition that we (students and teachers) need to work together on this This is real learning, not like what we do in lessons. You don’t have views on things in normal lessons. We do work and that’s it. We don’t have choice, the teacher decides When there is a joint conversation about what students value and what they believe could be developed, then the school has moved forward Students as partners in the learning process Student, School B Headteacher, School A Headteacher, School B My confidence is growing with every meeting. I have learned that I can and should make things happen. It has been the doorway into me being more involved in my school We have started to break down the barrier between staff and students and initiated conversations between them about learning and teaching that just didn’t happen before She (the student researcher) was in control of her project. I just listened and made the odd suggestion Student, School B Co-researcher, School C Lead teacher, School D

Reviewing the programme: where to now? • How could we support the development of the emerging staff/student dialogue? • How could we better support student understanding of learning and leadership? • How could we further support the development of staff/student collaborative partnerships? • How could student participation be developed to impact more effectively on the school improvement process? • How could we support students in developing as leaders rather than participators? Students as partners in the learning process

Programme 2: Students as Leaders Students as partners in the learning process

Aims of the programme • provide an opportunity for students to articulate their views about learning and leadership, developing their understanding whilst working in partnership with teachers • develop students’ and teachers’ understanding of, and skills in, this partnership working • support the development of strategies to enable students to take an active role in leading learning • develop students’ confidence as learners and leaders of learning • develop students’ ability to influence school policy and practice Students as partners in the learning process

Reviewing organisational context and practice Children share power and responsibility for decision-making Students as partners in the learning process Children are involved in decision-making processes Children’s views are taken into account Children are supported in expressing their views Children are listened to Adapted from Shier (2001)

Supporting student/staff dialogue Students as partners in the learning process

Developing student understanding of learning and leadership Students as partners in the learning process

From principles to leadership strands Students as partners in the learning process

Evaluative comments The collaboration between schools has forged student relationships which have really broken down barriers It has made me see that there is more than one way of learning and that I can improve mine and other students’ learning It taught me how to analyse lessons and to feed back to teachers in a polite way, being honest and constructive but not offensive Students as partners in the learning process Student, School A Student, School B Lead teacher, School A I feel prepared now to start to do student leadership but I still haven’t got much confidence I think the students have got a huge amount form the programme but some teachers still need to be convinced this is a good idea Teachers have a lot to handle! Student, School A Student, School B Lead Teacher, School B

Challenges and opportunities? Students as partners in the learning process What might be the challenges posed and opportunities offered by developing student leadership?

For further reference Students as partners in the learning process http://www.edu.cam.ac.uk/centres/lfl/SupportingStudentsasResearchers http://www.leadershipforlearning.org.uk/resources-and-academic-papers/223-supporting-the-growth-of-students-as-leaders-a-studentteacher-partnership-approach Roberts, A. and Nash, J. (2009) ‘Enabling students to participate in school improvement through a Students as Researchers programme.’ Improving Schools, 12 (2) pp. 184-187

References Bruner, J. (1966) Towards a Theory of Instruction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. DCSF (2008) Working Together: Listening to the Voices of Children and Young People. London: DCSF. DfES (2003) Every Child Matters: Change for Children. Online: http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk [accessed 12 April 2006]. DfES (2004) A New Relationship with Schools. London: DfES. DCSF (2008) Working Together: Listening to the Voices of Children and Young People. London: DCSF. Demitriou, H. & Rudduck, J. (2004) Pupils as researchers: the importance of using their research evidence. Primary Leadership Paper 11, 31–4. Frost, D. (2010) Creating participative learning cultures through student leadership in J. MacBeath and T. Townsend (eds) International Handbook on Leadership for Learning, New York: Springer Publishing Frost, D., Frost, R., MacBeath, J. & Pedder, D. (2009) The influence and participation of children and young people in their learning (IPiL) project. A paper presented at ICSEI 2009, the 22nd annual meeting of the International Congress on School Effectiveness and Improvement, Vancouver, Canada, 4–7 January. Frost, D. and MacBeath, J. (2010) Learning to Lead: an evaluation. Cambridge: Leadership for Learning, University of Cambridge Faculty of Education. Roberts, A. and Nash, J. (2009) ‘Enabling students to participate in school improvement through a Students as Researchers programme.’ Improving Schools, 12 (2) pp. 184-187 Rudduck, J. & McIntyre, D. (2007) Improving Learning through Consulting Pupils. Abingdon: Routledge. Sergiovanni,T. (1992) Moral Leadership: Getting to the heart of School Improvement. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass UN (1989) Convention on the Rights of the Child. Geneva: UN. Non-original images from Stock.xhng: http://www.sxc.hu/ Students as partners in the learning process

Students as partners in the learning process