Management and Encouragement of Pupil Participation in Primary Education: A Qualitative Case Study

• Main Authors: Daniel García-Pérez, Ignacio Montero
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hipatia Press 2014-06-01
• Series: REMIE : Multidisciplinary Journal of Educational Research
• Subjects: pupil participation; school democracy; student voice; shared decision-making; Primary Education
• Online Access: http://www.hipatiapress.com/hpjournals/index.php/remie/article/view/977/pdf

Our work focuses on the participation of students of primary education in decision-making. We carried out a qualitative case study of two public Primary schools with the aim of illustrating good models of student participation. On the one hand, our results highlight the opportunities resulting from the creation of specific structures of student participation, such as class and student councils, because they allow students to participate in collective rule-making, conflict management and the planning and evaluation of school and class activities. On the other hand, the results emphasize the contributions derived from the use of teaching methods that enhance student participation in decision making on academic issues by selecting contents, the inclusion of self-assessment processes and the self-organization of work time. Overall, the results obtained point out that it is feasible to organize the activity of a Primary Education center encouraging students to participate in decision making and they add evidence supported in the practice of two schools to progress in the study and promotion of school participation.