In January 2012, a team of curriculum specialists based at Bar Ilan University in Israel were approached by a Jewish day school in Australia to design a new Jewish Studies curriculum for its school. The mandate was to design a curriculum model from first-steps that would form the basis for the new curriculum. This article demonstrates how…

While many studies explain the contributions of economics and environmental protection to social sustainability, and discuss how to achieve sustainable development (SD) through education, less is known about change processes in order to ensure the sustainable development at school. The authors emphasize that as active members of the school…

In Nigeria, School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs) aim to provide an opportunity for all stakeholders, particularly the vulnerable groups in the school's host communities such as young people and women to partake in school governance. Research on the experiences of youth voice in the committees is scant, however, as much of the existing…

The purpose of this case study was to understand students' perceptions of their participation in planning the course curriculum. The data collection sources included interviews of six volunteer graduate students, class observations, recording of class meetings, students' coursework, and course syllabus. This study revealed that involving graduate…

The Constitution of Ecuador was approved in 2008, and promotes the application of participatory processes for resource distribution at different levels of government. The ultimate aim of the Constitution of Ecuador is to promote sustainable development and equitable distribution of resources and wealth, and to access the "Buen Vivir."…

This article sets out to explore how young people understand and experience the notions of democracy and participation in their secondary schools. We draw on their own words to examine their perspective on "participation" in everyday life at school to understand what kind of democratic education they are participating in. The article…

In 2011 to 2012, 48 schools in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland participated in the Principals as Literacy Leaders with Indigenous Communities (PALLIC) project. Central to this project was the establishment of positive working relationships between school principals and Indigenous community leaders in order to improve…

This article explores the power of student voice, in recognition of the child's right to be treated as a capable, competent social actor involved in the education process. In this study, student voice is considered in the light of improving students' engagement and personal and social development at the primary school level. It emphasizes the…

Debates have been used to develop critical thinking within teaching environments. Many learning activities are configured as working groups, which use debates to make decisions. Nevertheless, in a classroom debate, only a few students can participate; large work groups are similarly limited. Whilst the use of web tools would appear to offer a…

Certain policy areas with considerable impact on young people's educational experiences and achievements, notably assessment and qualifications, do not involve consultation with young people to any meaningful extent. Findings from a national study, which included focus groups with 243 students in the 14-19 phase, are presented with respect to…

This is a case study demonstrating the impact the co-operative movement has had on one co-operative school in south-west England. Lipson Co-operative Academy in Plymouth was one of the first schools to convert to become a co-operative school in 2009. The article has been co-written by members of the Academy and focuses on three transformational…

This article aims at analysing and discussing student participation in Portuguese higher education institutions and, specifically, in university governance. In a first moment, it describes this participation under both the previous (1988-2007) and the new legal frameworks (since 2007). A discussion of the changes introduced by this last framework…

Purpose: This paper sets out to describe a small case study which aimed to unravel the complexity of pupil participation in secondary schools. Design/methodology/approach: A secondary school in the south of England was selected as the case. Four group interviews, one individual interview and collection of relevant Healthy School documents provided…

Recent moves towards greater pupil participation in school decision-making have in part been based on instrumental rationales, such as increases in test scores and improvements in behaviour. This article assesses a different approach--that of the "prefigurative"--through which the school embodies the democratic society it aims to create.…

School environments offer a particularly difficult setting for fostering youth-adult partnerships because of the sharp power and status distinctions among students, teachers, and administrators. Drawing on interview and observational data examining 13 student-voice initiatives in northern California, this research examines the type of supports…