‘Hear My Voice’: Children and Young People in Schools and Research

Abstract

Pupil ‘voice’ is heralded as a key tenet of education policy, practice and research; however, ensuring that voice is authentically heard in the spaces that children occupy remains a challenge. Models of participation – relating to the degree of power either shared or transferred – range from tokenistic approaches to true pupil–teacher partnerships in which pupils initiate ideas and share decision-making with adults. Shier’s (2001) five-step Pathway to Participation model is considered and practitioners are invited to reflect on their own position and identify necessary steps to increase pupil involvement in their local setting. For guidance, a philosophy club intervention for early years and primary-age children is presented as a real-world example of facilitating voice on both group and individual levels. This chapter argues the case for schools to genuinely embrace and utilise pupil voice as part of a whole-school approach to enhance mental health and wellbeing within learning communities.

Citation

Jayman, M. and Quickfall, A. (2024), "‘Hear My Voice’: Children and Young People in Schools and Research", Jayman, M., Glazzard, J., Rose, A. and Quickfall, A. (Ed.) The BERA Guide to Mental Health and Wellbeing in Schools: Exploring Frontline Support in Educational Research and Practice (The BERA Guides), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 65-82. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83797-242-520241004