The National Context and Pupil Voice

Teaching and Learning Research Programme Annual Conference Papers

5th Annual Conference, 22-24 November 2004 Cardiff Marriott Hotel

Consulting Pupils about Teaching and Learning

Jean Rudduck, Faculty of Education Homerton College, University of Cambridge

NB: This paper was presented at an internal TLRP conference; if you wish to quote from it please contact the authors directly for permission. Contact details for each project and thematic initiative can be found on our website (www.tlrp.org).

1 Teaching and Learning Research Programme Phase 1 Network project (2000-2003)

Consulting Pupils about Teaching and Learning

Jean Rudduck

Background and Rationale

Decades of calls for educational reform have not succeeded in making schools places where all young people want to and are able to learn. It is time to invite students to join the conversations about how we might accomplish that. (Cook-Sather, 2002:9)

Consultation is a way of responding to that situation; it is about understanding what learning is like from the student perspective and trying to get bits of it better for different students and different groups of students. It offers teachers guidance about what aspects of teaching and learning need working on. It’s not just about enhancing performance in tests and examinations; it is, quite literally, about changing aspects of organisational structures, of pedagogic practice and teacher-student or student-student relationships in ways that make sense to young people and help them to learn.

The Project as a whole was based on two complementary premises. The first was that all school pupils have a right to be consulted and to have their voices listened to. The national framework for children’s rights developed in the wake of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) includes but goes beyond extend schooling; Freeman comments:

The right enunciated here is significant not only for what it says, but because it recognises the child as a full human being with integrity and personality and the ability to participate freely in society…. the views of children are to count (in relation to) decisions ranging from education to environment, from social security to secure accommodation, from transport to television (Freeman, 1996, p37).

As far as education in concerned, that right applies to all aspects of pupils’ lives in schools and is especially important, but perhaps most neglected, in relation to teaching and learning, the core purposes of schooling.

The second premise was more pragmatic but equally important. It was that consulting pupils offers schools a very important means towards their own improvement. It cannot tenably be claimed that schooling is primarily intended to benefit pupils if pupils’ own views about what is beneficial to them are not actively sought and attended to. Available evidence (e.g. Rudduck et al, 1996; Cooper and McIntyre, 1996) indicate that the kinds of changes to teaching and learning activities which pupils suggest when they are consulted tend to be very sensible. Not surprisingly, pupils can find it motivating to be consulted about how they can best be helped to learn and to be treated as active responsible members of the organisations in which

2 they work. This premise has been fully supported by what has been learned during the Project (Rudduck and Flutter, 2004).

From the start of the project it was clear, however, that such consultation by teachers was not at all normal practice in British schools. The Project team therefore, led by Jean Rudduck, focussed its energies on a range of investigations concerned with the possibilities and problems for teachers of consulting pupils. Madeleine Arnot and Diane Reay explored the fundamentally important question of what insights pupils might be able to share with teachers about how their learning opportunities in classrooms were shaped by their gender, ethnicity, social class and prior academic achievement (Arnot et al, 2004). Donald McIntyre and David Pedder explored the use that teachers are able to make of the ideas that pupils offer when they are consulted (Arnot et al, 2004). John MacBeath led a group that investigated effective practical procedures that teachers could use to consult pupils (Macbeath et al, 2003). Michael Fielding and Sarah Bragg (2003) explored the more radical option of pupils themselves becoming researchers. Julia Flutter and Jean Rudduck (2004) developed a network of schools and teachers already engaged in pupil consultation and, as well as providing support through the network, explored the ideas and practices that these teachers and schools were developing.

The 6 Network Projects

1. How teachers respond to pupils’ ideas on improving teaching and learning in different subjects (Donald McIntyre and David Pedder)

2. Ways of consulting pupils about teaching and learning (John MacBeath, Kate Myers, Helen Demetriou)

3. Pupil perspectives and participation: starting and sustaining the process (Michael Fielding and Sara Bragg)

4. The potential of pupils to act as (co)researchers into the process of teaching and learning (Michael Fielding and Sara Bragg)

5. How the conditions of learning in school and classroom affect the identity and participation of different groups of pupils (Madeleine Arnot, Diane Reay and Beth Wang)

6. Breaking new ground: innovative initiatives involving pupil consultation and participation (Julia Flutter)

In addition: A meta study was coordinated by Julia Flutter (see CDA report) and the Project supported a Network of about 300 interested teachers, lecturers and advisers.

3 Our overall aim in the study was to learn about what may be involved in enabling pupil voices to make a positive contribution to pupils’ own learning through first contributing to teachers’ learning.

The Network’s Aims

 To understand the process whereby consultation and participation can enhance pupils’ engagement and achievement  To understand the conditions in which consultation and participation can be effectively developed  To support teachers who want to develop ways of consulting pupils and increasing opportunities for participation  To ensure that the growing interest in pupil consultation is grounded in worthwhile and defensible principles and practices.  To integrate a theory of teaching, learning and attainment with a theory of pupil consultation and participation.

We have two sets of specific objectives: to meet basic needs in relation to pupil consultation, to encourage critical reflection on key issues of planning and implementation; and to examine some key research questions.

Meeting basic needs. These included:  Realistic ways of consulting pupils (Project 2)  Clarifying the increasingly popular concept of ‘the student as researcher’ (Project 3)  Identifying the problems and possibilities of building a coherent whole school commitment to pupil consultation (Project 4)  Documenting pupil consultation in practice in different contexts (Project 6).

Encouraging critical reflection on key issues. These included:  Practical issues to do with time and space in the curriculum and in teachers’ workloads (most Projects)  Identity issues to do with the challenge of pupil consultation and participation to the traditional images of teacher and pupil and teacher and pupil relationships (most Projects)  Values issues to do with authenticity and inclusiveness (most Projects)  Pedagogic issues to do with how teachers respond to and act on pupil comments on lessons (Project 1) and what pupils can tell us about the social dynamics of learning in the classroom (Project 5).

Across its constituent projects the Network has balanced an R & D (research and development) emphasis with a D & R emphasis. It is in the tradition of critical qualitative research. It extends the growing body of work on pupil voice through its investigation and analysis of the experiences of pupils and teachers involved in developing frameworks for consulting pupils about teaching and learning and strengthening their participation. The voices and perspectives of pupils offer a

4 distinctive understanding of the social processes and the social complexities of learning in school.

Projects 1 and 5 started from the researchers’ questions; Projects 2, 3 and 4 were collaborative and teachers more experienced in consulting pupils were invited to work with the different project teams; Project 6 started from the teachers’ concerns and aspirations in their own contexts and provided support for the development and evaluation of their work. 48 primary and secondary schools were included in the six Network projects. In addition, we established and maintained a ‘Network’ of almost 300 interested teachers, researchers and advisers in this country and abroad

The impact The curriculum development movement of the seventies taught us to be cautious about evaluating the impact of any new initiative on learning before being sure that the initiative itself was being appropriately implemented. In relation to pupil consultation therefore our concern was to map the different dimensions of pupil consultation, to describe its potential by documenting its possible outcomes while at the same time offering teachers guidance in introducing and support in responding to the considerable challenges it poses about young people’s role in school.

The Project’s framework Two arguments framed our approach. First, that schools in their deep structures and patterns of relationship have changed less over the last 20 years than young people have changed. In school young people have less autonomy, responsibility and opportunities for collaborative activity than they do outside and a better match, according to our analysis of pupil comments in the present - and in preceding Projects – could help avoid disengagement. The second argument warned of the temptation, built into existing structures and expectations in schools, of underestimating pupils: their insights into the social dynamics of school and classroom are built up from observation from their early days in school; these insights, which are often used to avoid work, but can be harnessed – as the Network Project shows – in support of their work. Schools do not routinely recognise young people’s capacity for the analysis of situations, for problem-solving and for constructive collaborative action.

What is distinctive about the Project? Teachers ‘consult’ pupils on a daily basis in their classrooms about whether they understand something, whether they need help and so on. The Network Project’s data go beyond this, showing how consultation has the potential for re-defining the status of pupils in school and for creating more collaborative teacher-pupil relationships where learning is accepted as a joint responsibility. Consultation has the potential to bring about changes in the conditions of learning in school in ways that young people say they would appreciate and that would enable them more readily to strengthen their commitment to the school’s learning purposes.

5 Mapping the outcomes

Pupils have a lot to say about teaching and learning in schools that teachers would be interested in and could make use of but there is in many schools and classrooms  a lack of opportunity for consultation  lack of time to build up coherent classroom and school wide practices  fear of reprisal if honest in their criticism  concern not to hurt teachers by being critical

There is also anxiety among teachers about  the possibility of personalised criticism  anxiety about balancing concern for learning for tests/exams and supporting ‘more fundamental learning’, whereby pupils come to understand their own identity and agency and the importance of understanding and respecting the views of others.

How is consultation being used? As a way of:  Identifying general issues in schools – a ‘wide-angle approach  Spotlighting’ issues of concern for particular groups of pupils  Supporting individual learners who find learning; difficult  Monitoring and evaluating new strategies and interventions  Contributing to an on-going system of school self-review  Helping establish a more democratic school system  Supporting the principles of citizenship education

What are pupils being consulted about? 1. School-wide issues, such as  Changing systems of rewards and sanctions,  Revising content and presentation of school rules,  Identifying qualities needed in a new headteacher  Getting the school council to work better

2. Year group issues, such as  Planning an induction for next year’s Y8, Y9, Y10,  Organising parents’ evenings,  Identifying qualities needed in a year-tutor  Improving homework

3. Issues in their class, such as  Things that pupils learn  Things that get in the way of learning  How feedback can help improve your work  Ways of catching up if you don’t understand or miss work.

6 What are the key advocacies, national and internationally? They focus on four related issues:  the need for policy makers to understand and respect the world of young people  a recognition that in the task of change in schools, pupils are the ‘expert witnesses’  the importance of helping young people develop their individual voices and to be able to ‘speak out’ on matters that concern them  the need for young people to be able to contribute, reflectively and collaboratively, to the improvement of their communities.

Defining the potential This is how we think it works:

Pupil consultation

yields a practical agenda strengthens pupil self-esteem and respect which leads to

ENHANCED COMMITMENT TO LEARNING AND TO SCHOOL

which is sustained by

transformation of teachers’ knowledge of pupils (greater awareness of pupils’ insight and capacity for constructive analysis)

which in turn leads to positive changes in

pedagogy teacher- pupil relationships

What’s in it for pupils?

Being able to talk about learning and teaching - and having your account taken seriously – can help pupils develop a stronger sense of

 membership so that they feel more included in its purposes - the organisational dimension;

 respect and self worth so that they feel positive about themselves - the personal dimension;

 control over learning so that they are better able to manage their own progress - the pedagogic dimension;

7 Some principles

Trust and openness are a pre-condition of dialogue A framework is needed that legitimates comment and provides reassurance that ideas will not just be 'accommodated' so as not to disturb existing structures.

Hearing the quiet or silenced voice in the acoustic of the school Listening only to the strident or articulate voices risks disenfranchising others.

The importance of maintaining authenticity Pupils tire of invitations to express a view on matters they do not think are important, or are framed in a language they find alienating or patronising, or that seldom result in actions that affect the quality of their lives in school.

Sharing data and/or offering feedback to pupils Pupils need to know what is happening as a result of what they have said and what is not possible and why; they need to understand the implications of diversity of views within the pupil group

Avoiding the creation of a ‘pupil voice elite Pioneering groups can easily become a new elite and create new hierarchies within the pupil group.

Guidance for policy makers in schools For (new) values to count they need to be … articulated sincerely by significant figures in the organisation do that they become part of the taken-for-grantedness of the place’2 (Corson, 1992)

 Re-assuring teachers, pupils, parents and governors that consulting pupils is recognised nationally as both legitimate and desirable

 Building up support among teachers (who may be sceptical) by presenting evidence of the positive outcomes of consultation

 Being sensitive to the anxiety experienced by teachers who have not before consulted pupils about teaching and learning

 Ensuring that other policies and initiatives are in harmony with the values that underpin pupil consultation;

 Ensuring that consultation is pursued through a range of avenues and not seen as something simply for a school council

 Giving pupil voice a central place in school self-evaluation

 Developing links with other schools that have ideas and practices to share

 Ensuring that newly qualified teachers understand the potential of consultation and feel confident about developing it.

8 A note on the national context and pupil voice

The changing national context has provided an increasingly urgent frame for the work of the Network Project. In 2000, the proposal reflected recognition of a slowly growing interest in pupil voice in the wake of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child with its widely cited emphasis on children’s perspectives being elicited and taken seriously but during the Project’s lifetime (2001-2003) national interest quickened rapidly: the government set up the Children and Young People’s Unit (CYPU), government departments were required to find ways of ensuring that policies took account of the views of young people; the DfES is about to issue a document on pupil voice to all schools – and is planning a major questionnaire survey of Y9 pupils’ perspectives on school. OFSTED is now formally consulting pupils during inspections; Hay McBer developed its instant electronic pupil feedback system for lesson evaluation; citizenship education, with its strong endorsement of pupil participation, was formally assigned space in the secondary curriculum in September 2002 (PSHE in the primary curriculum). Funding agencies have increasingly accepted and sought projects which analysed evidence from pupils; Schools Councils UK (SCUK), with its strong commitment to pupil consultation and participation, was given DfES grants to extend its programme of support; and the National College of School Leadership’s Networked Learning Communities programme has given pupil voice a central place in its programme: ‘Leadership is democracy in action where the multiple voices that make up the total experience are valued’. i

In short, pupil voice has had ‘greatness’ thrust upon it and there has been a worrying prospect of ‘mile-wide’ promotion with only ‘inch thick’ understanding.ii A different threat was that pupil voice might be seen by teachers as just another burden, externally required, which they would ‘do’ without commitment, or would relegate to the citizenship education slot.

One of the Network Project’s original aims was to seek to communicate the educational justification of pupil consultation and we consequently saw it as legitimate to put considerable energy, as early as possible, into talking with teachers and advisers, at school LEA and national conferences, and to offer guidance and support in written form, initially as Project leaflets, then as Project Newsletters, and as articles in academic and professional journals and, most recently, in our series of Pearson publications. We also seized opportunities, strategically, to work with key organisations (such as NCSL and SCUK) and wrote documents on pupil consultation for publication by the NCSL and the QCA (our most recent commission is the production of a booklet for the National Association of Primary Heads which will go to each primary school). In this way the project has sought to ensure that what it has to offer is feeding national thinking and practice at a time when the system is most interested and receptive.

9 i David Jackson in A and S, 2003, p35 ii Seidel Horne, 2003, p.108 (describing the US maths. Curriculum in high schools).

References:

Arnot, M, McIntyre, D, Pedder, D and Reay, D (2003) Consultation in the Classroom: Developing Dialogue about Teaching and Learning, Cambridge: Pearson

Fielding, M. and Bragg, S. (2003) Students as Researchers: Making a Difference, Cambridge: Pearson Publishing.

Flutter, J. and Rudduck, J. (2004) Consulting Pupils: What’s in it for Schools? London: RoutledgeFalmer

Macbeath, J., Demetriou, H, Rudduck, J. and Myers, K. (2003) Consulting Pupils – A Toolkit for Teachers, Cambridge: Pearson Publishing.

Rudduck, J. and Flutter, J. (2003) How to Improve Your School: Giving Pupils a Voice London: Continuum Press.