Students' Perspectives on Schooling explores how schools might be transformed for the better, by giving greater weight to the views of students. It examines the benefits to schools and to the wider community, of engaging learners in democratic processes.Drawing on human rights principles, it argues that there are moral and legal, as well as pragmatic reasons why students should be consulted about their schooling. It analyses quantitative and qualitative research data collected from young people living in a multicultural city in the English Midlands and supplements this with qualitative data from students living in the North West Pacific region of the United States, providing us with fresh insights into the processes of teaching and learning. Around 1,900 students reported on their current educational provision and the degree to which they felt it met their needs. In keeping with the spirit of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Students' Perspectives on Schooling engages with the voices of these young people to consider how they might inform policy making, planning and pedagogy. It argues that consulting young people is not only beneficial to the everyday life of schools, but that the future health of democratic societies demands that we re-think relationships between adults and young people.
Students' Perspectives on Schooling