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The Arnewood School Hampshire, England, United Kingdom
This paper takes both a general view of the importance of encouraging the student voice in school communities and gives some specific examples of ways in which that process can be developed in a genuine partnership for all stakeholders.
Of course, we in schools say that we take seriously what children tell us, but their perception can be very different. The child, for example, who reports name calling in the playground may be encouraged to speak up, but could also be dismissed for bothering a member of staff with something trivial. ' Don ' t worry ' , or ' Take no notice ' , may be stock responses to reassure or give a sense of adult perspective. However, we know many students (and adults) do not automatically respond with indifference to taunts and are frustrated by the seeming lack of care when such incidents are brought to the attention of one in relative authority.
In a more general context, listening and acting appropriately on the views and opinions of children is an essential signal to them as part of their maturation, as well as encouraging their development and motivation in a genuine learning community.
The Arnewood School is a successful 11 to 18-years mixed state college in New Milton, southwest Hampshire, England, situated close to the south coast and the New Forest. There are 1,350 students in the school, with over 200 in the sixth form. The catchment of children is not selective but genuinely comprehensive: a very wide spread of academic ability is reflected in our intake, which accommodates both the local community and children from other countries.
We emphasise three key aims in all we do:
As part of this process we listen very carefully to what students, parents and other members of the local community tell us. There are:
We believe the biggest impact of student voices in the longer term will be to change our pedagogy, and to modify and develop the deeper learning practices that characterise robust and innovative learning communities. Student researchers in individual colleges and across different institutions have an important voice in this process, as we identify below.
We gained specialist school status as a technology college in 2002 and Chris Hummerstone, the headteacher, is co-leader of a Networked Learning Community, an initiative supported by the National College for School Leadership. There are currently six schools throughout the UK in this e-learning network, with two in Australia: Doncaster College, (Rod Allen is the co-leader) and Glen Waverley College, both in Melbourne, Victoria.
One area of the group ' s focus is the impact of the student voice. A conference at Southampton University was held in April 2004 to launch Year 1 of the network, with both senior staff and students attending the event. The main theme was the development of effective e-learning and teaching and sharing innovative practice throughout the network. Students were able to tell each other, and teachers, how they learnt best with Information Communication Technology, and then place a detailed report on the group ' s website. Future plans for the students include video conferencing with their Australian peers, visiting other schools, exchanging ideas electronically and working on projects with common themes across the network.
Above all, we encourage students to have a central role in developing not only their learning but also that of others.
The Teaching and Learning Group at The Arnewood School - consisting of 20 members of staff, representing most subject areas and ranging from Newly Qualified Teachers to senior members of staff, including the Headteacher - has been researching topics such as Learner Motivation, ICT and Literacy, Effective Planning of Structured Lessons, Questioning and Thinking Skills and Assessment for Learning.
Although the ongoing work of this enthusiastic research group has been informative and will form part of next year ' s in-school training sessions, we intend to involve the student body with this research, too.
Seeking the ' students ' voice ' will have many benefits for all involved. From an educational researcher ' s point of view, it is obvious that students ' involvement in research will provide a perspective from ' youth ' or ' learners ' that may well differ from the adults ' points of view and will lead to clearer, more meaningful results. Students, who spend all of their time in lessons and are the target of our teaching efforts, are the ideal party to be involved.
Involving a group of students will give a number of ' advocates ' greater responsibility and ownership of the process and the results. This, in turn, should affect the culture of the school community positively: learning is considered to be an active process that all parties involved care about and take responsibility for.
The project will be headed by two members of staff who will be working with a small group of students. The selection of students will need to be decided upon. Gifted and talented students might form an ideal group to work with and this project would definitely provide part of an enrichment programme. The selected group, however, need to be representative for all students, including those with academic weaknesses and behavioural problems.
Equally, the research group could consist of volunteers or a group of sixth form students. Any students involved, however, will have to show a good level of commitment since some training in research, analysis and reporting of results will have to be provided.
Research topics could be drawn from a number of areas, e.g., maximising teaching and learning. Lesson observations could focus on what constitutes a ' good ' lesson or what makes a good learner, exploring different teaching and learning styles.
There would also be scope to examine motivational factors that contribute to a positive school ethos and a culture where academic success is valued, such as the effect of praise, the rewards and sanction systems and extra-curricular activities.
Equally, the students might wish to explore the effectiveness of the organisation of the school day, ranging from the timings of lessons and break times to the layout of the playground area, providing opportunities for students to relax, socialise or pursue personal interests.
The choice of the research topic could be dependent on the students or, equally, we could suggest investigations in particular areas, in line with the school ' s self-evaluation and performance management programmes.
At the end of the research programme, the Student Researchers will make a presentation of their findings to their peers (in assemblies) and the staff and governors (during meetings). They will also share their research with those in the Networked Learning Community.
We believe that this process will be a powerful agent for change and improvement at The Arnewood School, and also for others who will benefit from global and local networks.
Mr Chris Hummerstone is Headteacher of The Arnewood School. He is currently a member of two research groups, developing programmes of educational leadership, with the National College for School Leadership and the Department for Education and Skills.
Ms Sabine Stroud is an Advanced Skills Teacher and Key Stage 3 Strategy Manager at The Arnewood School, leading Learning to Learn sessions and Philosophy for Children classes, as well as enrichment activities for gifted and talented students. Sabine is the school ' s Able Child Co-ordinator and, at present, she is leading the Teaching and Learning Research Group.
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