Overview

last updated:June 2005

Why is the issue important?

Interest in 'pupil voice’ is growing. Many schools are starting to consult their pupils and involve them as active participants in classroom-based research investigations to help them identify ways of improving teaching and learning.

What did the research show?

When they consulted with pupils, the researchers found pupils had much to say about teaching and learning. Having their perspectives taken seriously helped pupil feel more positive about themselves as learners, understand and manage their own progress better, and feel more included in the school’s purposes. Teachers also gained from the experience. Consulting pupils helped them understand ways of supporting pupil engagement and build more open, collaborative and communicative relationships with their pupils.

How was this achieved?

The researchers explored pupils’ perspectives on several different aspects of teaching and learning, including:

• factors affecting pupils’ engagement with learning and their confidence in their ability to learn
• the impact of pupils’ friendships on their learning
• how the way time is managed in school impacts on pupils’ learning.

They also looked at what happened when teachers tried implementing their pupils’ suggestions for improving teaching and the impact of student-led research projects.

How was the research designed to be trustworthy?

The researchers gathered data from 48 primary and secondary schools located in different parts of the UK. The main sources of data were recorded interviews and group discussions.  These were supplemented, where appropriate, by classroom observation (with some sequences captured on videotape), data from pupil questionnaires, and by school and classroom documents (including reports produced by students as researchers teams).  The analysis of the impact of consultation was checked out through an end of project survey, which gathered data from a sample of 96 teachers.

What are the implications?

The research suggests the value of using pupil consultation data to:

• find ways of improving aspects of schooling that would make a difference to pupils in teachers’ own classes
• help identify the kinds of difficulties encountered by different groups of pupils which would enable teachers to develop strategies to support these groups
• illuminate issues of particular concern within a school, such as the drop out rate for certain subjects, or ways of reducing disruptive behaviour etc
• check whether pupils understand how they could improve their work and what they are aiming for
• enhance teachers’ professional development.

What do the case studies illustrate?

The case studies give examples of how:

• a school consulted with pupils about a specific school issue - target setting
• teachers implemented their pupils’ suggestions for teaching strategies they felt would support their learning
• even quite young children were able to undertake active research, with training and support
• a school evaluated the impact of students participating in 'Students as Researchers’ (SaRs) research projects on their learning.