What are we learning? Roger Holdsworth r.holdsworth@unimelb.au

1. Student Initiativesin Values Education, Civics and Citizenship Education and Inclusive Student Voice What are we learning? Roger Holdsworth r.holdsworth@unimelb.edu.au

2. Abiding Challenges and Directions • Basic ideas:effective learning partnerships between students and teachers: • Underlying ideas about the changing nature of young people’s role in society - valuing young people? • Hence changed nature of schools’ responsibility • Thus: youth and student participation approaches • Emerges as: • Middle years • Civics and citizenship education • Student voice • Student engagement (deep engagement)

3. A values approach to active participation • Student participation - not a ‘thing’ or ‘project’, but an underlying orientation: ‘verb’ not ‘noun’ • Commitment to respecting & trusting students • Strengths-based: commissioning students as ‘experts’ • Investigative: querying issues and challenging students • Experiencing real consequences and action: making a difference • Inclusive: especially of ‘marginalised’ students

4. Today … • WHY? - background ‘theory’ • Some examples - practical ideas • Some learnings - irrespective of what you do • Some reflections about Values and CCE …

5. Changed roles… “In the family, the young remain, while the activities from which they could learn have moved out; in the workplace, the activities from which they could learn remain, but the young themselves have been excluded… “The student role of young persons has become enlarged to the point where that role constitutes the major portion of their youth. But the student role is not a role of taking action and experiencing consequences… It is a relatively passive role, always in preparation for action, but never acting …”

6. Action Poverty… “The consequences of the expansion of the student role, and the action poverty it implies for the young, has been an increased restiveness among the young. “They are shielded from responsibility, and they become irresponsible; they are held in a dependent status, and they come to act asdependents; they are kept away from productive work, and they become unproductive.” James Coleman (1972) How do the young become adults?,Johns Hopkins University

7. Deferred Outcomes - Deferred Value! • Outcomes in schools are deferred to a future - “useful in a job or when you study further” • For some students, outcomes of this future are highly uncertain … and they know this • But also lessons for all students: “Your only value is in what you will become, not what you are or can do today…”

8. Deferred Citizenship… “Learning about democracy and citizenship when I was at school, was a bit like reading holiday brochures in prison…” Derry Hannam, English School Inspector and adviser/trainer for the Council of Europe on Education for Democratic Citizenship

9. Sense of bonding: with family/peers/community, to feel/be wanted, to feel/be loved, to belong, to have basic needs met Sense of control: capability, competence, impact on one’s own environment, power over one’s self, use of social/life skills, power to change one’s self and environment control bonding meaning Sense of meaning: to feel important, to feel relevant, self-esteem, sense of dignity/honour, able to accomplish tasks After Nancy Phillips, 1990 Development of a strong self-concept

10. Arenas of Participation • In young people’s own organisations (SRCs, JSCs, Student Councils) • In formal decision-making processes(representation on School Council etc) • In action/classrooms/curriculum(cross-age and peer tutoring, community research and action, resource production, oral histories, media production, job creation etc)

11. We just want to have a say! We really want to see some action!

13. Critiques of Traditional Student Council Approaches • Who gets to be involved? • About what? • Links to students and school decision-making • Non-curricular • Ineffective See: Student Councils and Beyond. R Holdsworth (2005); via Connect

14. Student Participatory Curriculum Approaches • Cross-age and peer tutoring • Media production (print, radio, TV) • Oral histories • Job/Work Creation (Enterprise) • Resource production • Peer mediation, support, intervention • Community research and action ….

15. Expertise • Need to see students as expert voices and actors because of their specific experiences • Eg cross-age tutoring program: choose students to tutor in areas in which they are failingbecause of their knowledge of ‘failure’

16. Student Action Teams Student Action Teams involve a group of students who work on a real, identified issue of community interest. The students carry out research on the topic and develop solutions – either proposals for others or action they then take.

17. SAT Principles: • An active role for young people as part of their community; • Young people as community investigators; • Young people doing something that makes a difference or brings about change; • Programs that involve learning and meet academic goals

18. SAT Examples • Community safety (Statewide, 2000, 2002) • Traffic safety (Darebin, 2003) • Environment (Darebin, 2005, 2006) • Police relations (Werribee, 2003) • Intergenerational conflict (Bright, 2000) • Bullying (Doncaster, 2002) • Values (Manningham, 2006, 2007; Darebin 2007) • School Engagement (Preston/Thornbury, 2007-9) • Transition (East Bentleigh + NSW, 2009)

19. Specific Examples • Altona SC: SAT investigates and recommends on truancy • Taylors Lakes PS: SAT investigates common student concerns about transition, finds answers and publishes booklet for all families • Doncaster SC: SAT investigates bullying in school and community and leads school initiatives • Wanganui Park SC: SAT investigates ‘image’ of suburb and takes action to improve it • Primary school in Geelong: SAT investigates location of school crossing and approaches local Council to change it… etc

20. Topics for SATs • Real (authentic) - not hypothetical • Uncertain outcomes - real questions • Of concern to young people(important, engaging) • Open to action and change • Substantial - needs research

21. SAT in Operation: Overall Structure • Engagement Event (Forum 1) • Research Phase: what is the issue? what do we know about it? • Research Reporting Event (Forum 2) • Action Phase:what will we change? what will we do? • Action Reporting Event (Forum 3)

22. SAT Flow Chart… Engagement Event RESEARCH PHASE Research Reporting Event ACTION PHASE Action Reporting Event

23. Some examples of process: • Traffic Safety - data on accidents

24. One Student’s Response…(traffic safety) “When I saw these figures, I was first of all surprised, then angry, then determined to do something about them!” Primary school student, Preston, 2003

25. Some examples of process: • Traffic Safety - data on accidents • Environment - sharing their knowledge of area

26. A Wider Challenge: Are we happy for our students to be servants of our communities? How can we build students as shapers of their uncertain communities?

27. “Student Action Teams are about supporting young people to question, construct and develop the sorts of multiple communities in which they live and wish to live.” Connect, 2004

28. Some examples of process: • Traffic Safety - data on accidents • Environment - sharing their knowledge of area • Values - sharing their information on school values

29. One Student’s Response… (Values Education) “( … sniff sniff … ) We didn’t get to choose ‘integrity’, and I wanted to do integrity so I would understand what it meant!” Primary school student, Manningham cluster, 2005

30. The role of metaphor: • ‘Thank God You’re Here!’ • Curating a ‘Museum of Values’ • Mission Impossible … • Researcher or CSI (Crime Scene Investigator) • ‘Where’s the Evidence?’ game show

31. Fun! Importance of fun, but … “… It doesn’t have to be fun all the time; not fun, just worthwhile.” (student)

32. Some examples of process: • Traffic Safety - data on accidents • Environment - sharing their knowledge of area • Values - sharing their information on school values • Engagement - body-mapping, the ‘switch-o-meter’ etc

33. eg Engaging students aboutStudent Engagement What does engagement mean? “Oh you mean whether we’re switched on or witched off?”

34. but then … “It’s not as simple as ‘on’ or ‘off’; you can have different levels of engagement.” “How could we show this?”

36. Further questions … “What influences the level of engagement?” “Can you control it?” “I wonder how the level of engagement changes during the school day?”

37. Taking ‘Pulse’ Readings

38. Analysing Engagement

39. since then … • Decisions about action - student-run excursions • Theory: “the more we know about engagement, the more we’re engaged” • Assessing impact: “how do we know we’ve made a difference?” • 2009: sharing our story

40. Practical Issues • Which students?andHow select? • Curriculum location: • Ad hoc/withdrawal • Responsible to SRC • Within a class • Time frame • Teacher support/time • Skill training

41. Some things we’re learning: • Real issue - as seen by students and others • Commissioning - role of the ‘outsider’ for task, audience (presentations), task-setting • Uncertainty - not pre-arranged outcomes; students and teachers as co-researchers • Time for research - no ‘quick answers’; avoid moving to action too fast (but need for action too) • Inclusiveness - not just the ‘good’ kids; the importance of ‘expertise’ • Questioning - the importance of the questions that drive us to the next stage

42. SATs, Values & CCE • Vand V(like Garth Boomer’s ideas of ‘Negotiation’ and ‘negotiation’: ‘Values’ and ‘values’) - implicit and explicit? • ‘Values education’ underlies the SAT approach: valuing students (respect, doing your best, giving responsibility, care and compassion, etc etc) • Making values explicit within SATs • ‘Active citizenship’: real and valued roles within communities

43. Three-Way Test of Value • Value to the Participants:student choice; active commitment; makes sense to them • Community Value:active, hands-on; audience beyond the classroom; seen to be of value by the community • Academic Value:involves learning; meets or exceeds mandated curriculum goals; shared knowledge of what these goals are

44. Resources: • Connect magazine: $33 per year (6 issues): 12 Brooke Street, Northcote 3070 • Student Councils and Beyond: 108 page book: $33 ($27.50 for Connect subscribers) • Student Action Teams: 90 page book: $33 ($27.50 for Connect subscribers) • Reaching High: 120-page book on student-run literacy camps + DVD: $33 ($27.50 for Connect subscribers) • These last three: order from Connect: www.geocities.com/rogermhold/Connect • Student Action Team Manual: on-line at: www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/curricman/middleyear/StudentActionTeamsManual2003.pdf • Australian Youth Research Centre reports on Student Action Teams: Working Paper 21 + Research Report 22: 03 8344 9633 or yrc-info@unimelb.edu.au