This policy seminar, reviewing the latest evidence base on pupil/student voice, took place at the DCSF on 23 October 2007, and was chaired by Anne Diack from the Innovation Unit. The main speaker was Professor Michael Fielding, whose first presentation set the scene and identified issues, looking at recent and immediate contexts, activities/involvement, impact and challenges. Professor Donald McIntyre, who had sadly passed away a week before, had been due to speak about findings from the TLRP network and related projects concerning consultation in the classroom; this second presentation was given by his colleague and fellow researcher, Dr Bethan Morgan. The audience was asked to pause to reflect on his significant contribution to the field of pupil voice, alongside that of Professor Joan Ruddock, who passed away earlier in the year. The last book they had written together, Improving Learning through Consulting Pupils, is due to be published by Routledge later this year.
The PowerPoints (attached) provided a wealth of research evidence which suggests that pupil voice is a powerful tool for engaging young people with their learning, and appears to have a positive impact on affective measures, such as emotional engagement, communication and behaviour. However, the importance of whole-school systematic means of consultation, as opposed to the ‘informal' practices adopted generally by teachers, was stressed; Professor Fielding's slides on Student Involvement Typology (1 & 2) are particularly valuable in this respect. Teachers may find it reassuring to discover that pupils tend to take the process of consultation very seriously, and are also inclined to stress the positive. It would appear that, despite what Ruddock termed "the ideology of immaturity", pupils can indeed take the lead; that they have a ‘craft knowledge' which can be put to good use in the classroom. Professor Fielding observed that, in his research, teachers consistently reported that they had underestimated this knowledge in their pupils.
The final part of the seminar (PowerPoint 3) looked at ‘Ways Forward', considering ways to support and sustain systems for pupil voice at classroom, department, school, LA and national level, as well as suggestions for future research.
The powerpoint presentation used in the seminar can be viewed below.