Possibilities of student voice

Abstract

Student voice initiatives like surveys, student councils, and classes focused on leadership and agency all provide youth a way to share their opinions about school-based issues and take action to rectify them to some degree. But the way each initiative is leveraged, the experiences of the young people and educators involved, and the initiatives’ varied goals complicate a singular definition of student voice. Dane Stickney and Julissa Ventura identify levels of student voice to help educators and school leaders in assessing current student-centered approaches and create new, more transformative options that deeply motivate and engage youth.