Transformative approaches to student voice: theoretical underpinnings, recalcitrant realities

Abstract

This article explores some of the theoretical underpinnings of radical approaches to student voice and examines a number of practical issues we need to address if we wish to move towards a more transformative future. The framework within which the notion of voice is explored and critiqued falls primarily into two categories. The first, Deconstructing the presumptions of the present , explores the largely ignored problematic of much student voice work. (1) 'Problems of speaking about others', (2) 'Problems of speaking for others', and problems of (3) 'Getting heard' reveal a range of issues that need to be better understood and acknowledged. The second, On the necessity of dialogue , attempts a resolution, exploring the possibility of (4) 'Speaking about/for others in supportive ways' before offering the preferred (5) 'Dialogic alternative: speaking with rather than for' and further developing that line of enquiry through (6) 'Students as co/researchers'. Finally, (7) 'Recalcitrant realities, new opportunities' offers some ambivalent, but still hopeful thoughts about current realities and future possibilities.

Aspirations and assumptions: a researcher's account of pupil involvement in school-based research

“…They purport, however, that adult perspectives have a tendency to dominate even collaborative work with children and young people (CookSather 2007;Hadfield and Haw 2001), and as Fielding notes, children's voices can unknowingly be moulded to fit with an adult agenda (2004;Mannion 2007) or adult understanding (Mitra 2001). Thus pupils involved in research can be positioned as 'responder[s] to adult plans' (Hollins, Gunter, and Thomson 2006) rather than as stipulators of their own priorities and designers of their own approaches.…”

“…For this reason, the PCRs were involved in a consultancy role and acted as ambassadors and assistants during data collection. While I hoped that involving pupils actively in the research would be beneficial both to the pupils and to the quality of the data collected, this project did, therefore, run the risk of becoming more adult-led than originally intended (Fielding 2004).…”

“…Cautionary observations on the value of pupil research In spite of the arguments in support of participatory research in schools, the literature provides warnings that such initiatives should be approached with caution and realism (Atweh and Burton 1995;Fielding 2004Fielding , 2007Grundy 1998;Mannion 2007). According to Leitch et al, researching with pupils brings challenges that may be encountered at a number of different moments in the research process and that can only partially be predicted (Leitch et al 2007).…”

“…It has been argued that 'insider' research, conducted from the social and cultural standpoint of the participant (Fielding 2004), provides access to data that may otherwise have been inaccessible. This may be because research participants are able to communicate more openly with their peers than with 'outsiders' (Atweh and Burton 1995;Schwartz 1988), because they can relate to and empathize better with participants of a similar age and background to themselves (Mitra 2001), or in the case of data collection methods such as participant observation, because the presence of a peer is less disruptive than that of an adult outsider (Leitch et al 2007).…”

Inclusive research in education: contributions to method and debate

“…Weilikali and Atkins invoke the writing of Fielding (2001Fielding ( , 2004 and Cook-Sather (2006) to highlight the need to acknowledge the 'ongoing struggle ' to find spaces where teachers and students can engage as equals. Parsons and Cobb urge caution about being naive and viewing the possibilities of inclusive research with a 'rose tinted' perspective.…”