Picture this – our dream school! Swedish schoolchildren sharing their visions of school

Abstract

The aim of this study was to make visible, and understand, possible opportunities for school improvement based on schoolchildren’s lived experience and visionary ideas of school. Schoolchildren aged 10–12 from the northern part of Sweden participated in the study. The phenomenological analysis resulted in three themes, with no particular order of preference: the school of ‘Friendship and involvement’, the school of ‘Work and play’ and the school of ‘Places and spaces’. The comprehensive understanding of the children’s dream school is the school of ‘Friendship, freedom and fun’, which is discussed with school improvement in mind.

Imagining an ideal school for wellbeing: Locating student voice

“…As evidenced in the four themes above, the students' visions of their ideal wellbeing school are heavily dependent on relationships, as reflected in approaches to pedagogy, school structures that help facilitate relationships, the importance of feeling safe and secure, the capacity to have fun, the desire for understanding, better communication, equality and respect, and more opportunities for students to be heard and involved in school life. Similar findings have been identified in other studies that have asked students to reflect on what they want improved in their schooling (see Blishen, 1969;Burke & Grosvenor, 2003;Kostenius, 2011;Osler, 2010 (Lodge (2005, p. 135) between students and teachers may be a challenge but has been found to be particularly useful in developing stronger, more trusting relationships and a sense of community in schools. The findings from this study underline the importance of fostering communication and respect as an integral feature of schools that promote wellbeing.…”

“…Keywords: Relationships, Participation, Qualitative research, Student wellbeing, School improvement, Student voice Over the past 25 years much has been written internationally about effective approaches to educational change (Fullan, 2007;Hargreaves & Shirley, 2009), including some impressive but limited attempts to position students in discussions and debates concerning school improvement and educational reform (Cook-Sather, 2006;Frost & Holden, 2008;Kostenius, 2011;Lodge, 2005). In Australia, government and non-government education systems continue to grapple with persistent and complex issues that directly or indirectly concern students and their wellbeing.…”

The lived experiences of school lunch: an empathy-based study with children in Sweden

“…Lived experiences of everyday practices are well explored in social and educational studies (see e.g. Thomson 2005;Horton and Kraftl 2006;Kostenius 2011). Within this area of research, the sociologist Henri Lefebvre's theories on social space have received a lot of attention (see e.g.…”

Pengetahuan Tentang Rokok,pusat Kendali Kesehatan Eksternal Dan Perilaku Merokok

“…Hal penting yang juga harus dipertimbangkan dengan mengacu pada penelitian Kostenius (2011) dan Euanggelion dan Dewi (2009) untuk memfasilitasi perkembangan psikososial anak jalanan dan pekerja anak, adalah dengan memberikan kesempatan pada mereka untuk dapat mengekspresikan kreatifitas mereka melalui sanggar-sanggar kesenian. Dengan diberi kesempatan untuk tampil di berbagai acara, dan mendapat apresiasi terhadap kreatifitas mereka, maka mereka dapat mengembangkan rasa percaya diri sebagai dasar dari berkembangnya kesejahteraan psikologis mereka.…”