Student voice: theorising power and participation

Abstract

The paper considers theoretical notions of power in relation to student voice. As an action-oriented practice some aspects of student voice have received little theorisation as yet. This paper aims to contribute to a growing body of work on student voice which is addressing its current theoretical under-elaboration. It does so by concentrating on the dimension of power. The central argument is that power is a significant factor in shaping both the philosophical underpinnings of student voice work and the practical assumptions which are made about what is possible in student voice work. It focuses on the British context, and examines the theoretical legacy student voice has inherited from radical pedagogy, placing a critical spotlight on the notions of ‘empowerment’ and ‘dialogue’. It ends with a consideration of postmodernist notions of power which it is argued provides the opportunity to examine more critically the way in which power conditions what is possible in student voice work

The significance of student voice: female students’ interpretations of failure in Tanzanian secondary education

“…Grounded in critical research tradition and radical pedagogy (see Taylor and Robinson, 2009), student voice is defined as processes that enable students to be consulted on their education (Czerniawski, 2012) with the aim of increasing students' representation and participation in processes from which they have historically been excluded Robinson, 2009). McLeod (2011, p. 181) identifies four common overlapping uses of voice in educational discourse: 1) voiceas-strategy (to achieve empowerment, transformation, equality); 2) voice-as-participation (in learning, in democratic processes); 3) voice-as-right (to be heard, to have a say); and 4) voice-asdifference (to promote inclusion, respect diversity, indicate equity).…”

“…Taylor and Robinson (2009) argue for the importance of recognising plural and context-specific relations of power and participation. Similarly, Czerniawski (2012) emphasises the existence of different forms of professional trust in different national locations.…”

“…An alternative interpretation is that their teachers and school leadership pointed to 'the government' when trying to explain the evident failures of the secondary schooling due to the poor quality and massive expansion. This refers to what Taylor and Robinson (2009) highlighted as the importance of recognising plural and context-specific relations of power and participation. Similarly, Czerniawski (2012) emphasised the existence of different forms of professional trust in different national locations.…”

A Comparison of Assessment Beliefs of Science and Education Lecturers in a University

“…Learners have, for their part, been required to engage with learning outcomes, criteria and have a pro-active and independent role in learning and assessment. These student responsibilities come with new powers linked to student voice (Taylor & Robinson, 2009) and this is linked to gauging institutional excellence through, for example, the Course Experience Questionnaire (Australia) and the National Student Survey (UK). It is interesting to note that frequent least positive aspects of students' course experiences are related to assessment and feedback (Yorke, 2013).…”

Student-faculty Co-inquiry Into Student Reading: Recognising SoTL as Pedagogic Practice

“…Whilst student engagement in SoTL is seen as inherently transformative for the outcomes of SoTL (Manor et al, 2010), recent theorisation of student voice has significantly problematised the power dynamics of student agency within higher education enhancement (Taylor and Robinson, 2009). Recognising the inevitability of power discrepancies within the context of traditional higher education practices (Mann, 2008), conceptualising SoTL involving students as pedagogy calls for increased attention to the potentially normative functioning of a "hidden curriculum" (Portelli, 1993) that has been left unexposed in current theorisation of student engagement in SoTL.…”