What are we learning? Roger Holdsworth [email protected]

Student Initiativesin Values Education, Civics and Citizenship

Education and Inclusive Student Voice

What are we learning?

Roger Holdsworth

[email protected]

Abiding Challenges and Directions

Basic ideas: effective learning partnerships between students and teachers:

Underlying ideas about the changing nature of young people’s role in society - valuing young people?

Hence changed nature of schools’ responsibility

Thus: youth and student participation approachesThus: youth and student participation approaches

Emerges as: Middle years Civics and citizenship education Student voice Student engagement (deep engagement)

A values approach to active participation

Student participation - not a ‘thing’‘thing’ or ‘project’‘project’, but an underlying orientationorientation: ‘verb’ not ‘noun’ Commitment to respecting & trusting students Strengths-based: commissioning students as

‘experts’ Investigative: querying issues and challenging

students Experiencing real consequences and action:

making a difference Inclusive: especially of ‘marginalised’ students

Today …Today …

WHY? - background ‘theory’ Some examples - practical ideas Some learnings - irrespective of

what you do Some reflections about Values

and CCE …

Changed roles…

“In the family, the young remain, while the activities from which they could learn have moved out; in the workplace, the activities from which they could learn remain, but the young themselves have been excluded…

“The student role of young persons has become enlarged to the point where that role constitutes the major portion of their youth. But the student role is not a role of taking action and experiencing consequences… It is a relatively passive role, always in preparation for action, but never acting …”

Action Poverty…

“The consequences of the expansion of the student role, and the action poverty it implies for the young, has been an increased restiveness among the young.

“They are shielded from responsibility, and they become irresponsible; they are held in a dependent status, and they come to act as dependents; they are kept away from productive work, and they become unproductive.”

James Coleman (1972) How do the young become adults?, Johns Hopkins University

Deferred Outcomes - Deferred Value!

• Outcomes in schools are deferred to a future - “useful in a job or when you study further”

• For some students, outcomes of this future are highly uncertain … and they know this

• But also lessons for all students: “Your only value is in what you will become, not what you are or can do today…”

Deferred Citizenship…

“Learning about democracy and

citizenship when I was at school, was a bit like

reading holiday brochures in prison…”

Derry Hannam, English School Inspector and adviser/trainer for the Council of Europe on Education for

Democratic Citizenship

Development of a strong self-concept

control bonding

meaning

Sense of control: capability, competence, impact on one’s own environment, power over one’s self, use of social/life skills, power to change one’s self and environment

Sense of bonding: with family/peers/community, to feel/be wanted, to feel/be loved, to belong, to have basic needs met

Sense of meaning: to feel important, to feel relevant, self-esteem, sense of dignity/honour, able to accomplish tasksAfter Nancy Phillips, 1990

Arenas of Participation

In young people’s own organisations

(SRCs, JSCs, Student Councils) In formal decision-making processes

(representation on School Council etc) In action/classrooms/curriculum

(cross-age and peer tutoring, community research and action, resource production, oral histories, media production, job creation etc)

We just want to have

a say!

We really want to see some

action!

Critiques of Traditional Student Council Approaches

Who gets to be involved? About what? Links to students and school

decision-making Non-curricular Ineffective

See: Student Councils and Beyond.R Holdsworth (2005); via Connect

Student Participatory Student Participatory Curriculum ApproachesCurriculum Approaches

Cross-age and peer tutoring Media production (print, radio, TV) Oral histories Job/Work Creation (Enterprise) Resource production Peer mediation, support, intervention Community research and action ….

Expertise

• Need to see students as expert voices and actors because of their specific experiences

• Eg cross-age tutoring program: choose students to tutor in areas in which they are failing because of their knowledge of ‘failure’

Student Action Teams

Student Action Teams involve a group of students who work on a real, identified issue of community interest. The students carry out research on the topic and develop solutions – either proposals for others or action they then take.

SAT Principles:

• An active role for young people as part of their community;

• Young people as community investigators;

• Young people doing something that makes a difference or brings about change;

• Programs that involve learning and meet academic goals

SAT Examples

• Community safety (Statewide, 2000, 2002)• Traffic safety (Darebin, 2003)• Environment (Darebin, 2005, 2006)• Police relations (Werribee, 2003)• Intergenerational conflict (Bright, 2000)• Bullying (Doncaster, 2002)• Values (Manningham, 2006, 2007; Darebin 2007)• School Engagement (Preston/Thornbury, 2007-9)• Transition (East Bentleigh + NSW, 2009)

Specific Examples

• Altona SC: SAT investigates and recommends on truancy• Taylors Lakes PS: SAT investigates common student

concerns about transition, finds answers and publishes booklet for all families

• Doncaster SC: SAT investigates bullying in school and community and leads school initiatives

• Wanganui Park SC: SAT investigates ‘image’ of suburb and takes action to improve it

• Primary school in Geelong: SAT investigates location of school crossing and approaches local Council to change it… etc

Topics for SATs

Real (authentic) - not hypothetical

Uncertain outcomes - real questions

Of concern to young people (important, engaging)

Open to action and change

Substantial - needs research

SAT in Operation: Overall Structure

• Engagement Event (Forum 1)• Research Phase:

what is the issue? what do we know

about it?• Research Reporting Event (Forum 2)• Action Phase:

what will we change? what will we do?• Action Reporting Event (Forum 3)

SAT Flow Chart…SAT Flow Chart…

RESEARCH PHASE

ACTION PHASE

Engagement Event

Research Reporting Event

Action Reporting Event

Some examples of process: Traffic Safety - data on accidents

One Student’s Response…

(traffic safety)

“When I saw these figures, I was

first of all surprised, then angry,

then determined to do something

about them!”

Primary school student, Preston, 2003

Some examples of process:

Traffic Safety - data on accidents Environment - sharing their

knowledge of area

A Wider Challenge:

Are we happy for our students to be servants of our communities?

How can we build students as shapersshapers of their uncertain

communities?

“Student Action Teams are about supporting young people to

question, construct and develop the sorts of multiple communities in which they live and wish to live.”

Connect, 2004

Some examples of process:

Traffic Safety - data on accidents Environment - sharing their

knowledge of area Values - sharing their information

on school values

One Student’s Response… (Values

Education)

“( … sniff sniff … )

We didn’t get to

choose ‘integrity’,

and I wanted to do

integrity so I would

understand what it

meant!”Primary school student,

Manningham cluster, 2005

The role of metaphor:

‘Thank God You’re Here!’ Curating a ‘Museum of Values’ Mission Impossible … Researcher or CSI (Crime Scene

Investigator) ‘Where’s the Evidence?’ game show

Fun!Importance of funfun, but …

“… It doesn’t have to be fun all the time; not fun, just

worthwhileworthwhile.”(student)

Some examples of process:

Traffic Safety - data on accidents Environment - sharing their

knowledge of area Values - sharing their information

on school values Engagement - body-mapping, the

‘switch-o-meter’ etc

eg Engaging students abouteg Engaging students about Student EngagementStudent Engagement

What does engagement mean?

“Oh you mean whether we’re switched on or witched off?”

but then …

“It’s not as simple as ‘on’ or ‘off’; you can have different different levelslevels of engagement.”

“How could we show this?”

Further questions …

“What influences the level of engagement?”

“Can you control it?”

“I wonder how the level of engagement changes during the school day?”

Taking ‘Pulse’ ReadingsTaking ‘Pulse’ Readings

Analysing EngagementAnalysing Engagement

5/6J Engagement Pulse (Tuesday 19 June)

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

Times of the Day

En

gag

emen

t L

evel

s

Class Average Engagement 2.35 2.99 3.30 3.26 3.17 2.78 3.13 2.85 3.09 2.86 3.32 2.92 3.18 3.14

Boys Average Engagement 2.27 2.92 3.21 3.09 3.13 2.27 3.06 2.29 2.67 2.23 2.92 2.27 3.06 2.85

Girls Average Engagement 2.45 3.08 3.40 3.47 3.23 3.40 3.20 3.53 3.60 3.63 3.80 3.70 3.33 3.48

9.00 9.30 10.00 10.30 11.00 11.30 12.00 12.30 1.00 1.30 2.00 2.30 3.00 3.30

since then …

Decisions about action - student-run excursions

Theory: “the more we know about engagement, the more we’re engaged”

Assessing impact: “how do we know we’ve made a difference?”

2009: sharing our story

Practical Issues

• Which students? and How select?

• Curriculum location:• Ad hoc/withdrawal• Responsible to SRC• Within a class

• Time frame

• Teacher support/time

• Skill training

Some things we’re learning:

Real issue - as seen by students and others

Commissioning - role of the ‘outsider’ for task, audience (presentations), task-setting

Uncertainty - not pre-arranged outcomes; students and teachers as co-researchers

Time for research - no ‘quick answers’; avoid moving to action too fast (but need for action too)

Inclusiveness - not just the ‘good’ kids; the importance of ‘expertise’

Questioning - the importance of the questions that drive us to the next stage

SATs, Values & CCESATs, Values & CCE

VV and and VV (like Garth Boomer’s ideas of

‘Negotiation’ and ‘negotiation’: ‘Values’ and ‘values’) - implicit and explicit?

‘Values education’ underlies the SAT approach: valuing students (respect, doing your best, giving responsibility, care and compassion, etc etc)

Making values explicit within SATs ‘Active citizenship’: real and valued roles

within communities

Three-Way Test of Value

Value to the Participants: student choice; active commitment; makes sense to them

Community Value: active, hands-on; audience beyond the classroom; seen to be of value by the community

Academic Value: involves learning; meets or exceeds mandated curriculum goals; shared knowledge of what these goals are

Resources:

Connect magazine: $33 per year (6 issues): 12 Brooke Street, Northcote 3070

Student Councils and Beyond: 108 page book: $33 ($27.50 for Connect subscribers)

Student Action Teams: 90 page book: $33 ($27.50 for Connect subscribers)

Reaching High: 120-page book on student-run literacy camps + DVD: $33 ($27.50 for Connect subscribers)

These last three: order from Connect: www.geocities.com/rogermhold/Connect

Student Action Team Manual: on-line at: www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/curricman/middleyear/StudentActionTeamsManual2003.pdf

Australian Youth Research Centre reports on Student Action Teams: Working Paper 21 + Research Report 22: 03 8344 9633 or [email protected]