Frameworks for Meaningful Student Involvement

What makes student involvement meaningful?

SoundOut Director Adam Fletcher facilitating at the 2006 National School Board Association Conference in Chicago, Illinois.

Introduction

Educators and students hear student voice everyday. Defined as, "the distinct ideas, opinions, attitudes, knowledge, and actions of young people as they express themselves regarding schools," student voice happens when groups of students collect in the hallway after class to talk bad about teachers, when impassioned students go to the school board meeting to demand funding for new textbooks, and when students regularly throw away kiwi fruit in the cafeteria. However, most students and adults would agree that those frequently are not meaningful experiences.

Similarly, student involvement activities have been popular in schools since John Dewey first popularized student governments at the beginning of the 20th century. Planning social dances, leading after school clubs and choosing which extracurricular classes to take have long been cited by educators as great ways to engage students. However, when shown options students rarely declare these activities to be meaningful, and after learning about alternatives teachers often agree.

Since 2001 SoundOut has been worked with more than 250 K-12 schools, districts, and state education agencies across the United States and Canada to help students and educators work together to determine what meaningful student involvement is. After comparing these findings to variety of research literature Adam Fletcher created the Frameworks for Meaningful Student Involvement. Following is that Framework, including a series of essential tips, outlines, rubrics and other devices meant to explore the depth, breadth and purpose of engaging students as partners in school change.

Frameworks

Related Publications

"Supporting Student Voice for Meaningful Change," interview with Adam Fletcher. ASCD Whole Child Blogcast (May 2009)
"The Roots of Meaningful Student Involvement," www.YoungerWorld.org (April 2009)
"The Architecture of Ownership," Educational Leadership (November 2008)
"Students as Partners in Learning," interview with Adam Fletcher. NWREL magazine Northwest Education (Spring/Summer 2008)
Meaningful Student Involvement: Guide to Students as Partners in School Change [pdf]. HumanLinks Foundation and SoundOut. (2005)
Stories of Meaningful Student Involvement [pdf]. HumanLinks Foundation and SoundOut. (2005)
"How to Meaningfully Involve Students in School Improvement," in School Improvement Process Guide [doc]. Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. (2005)
"Meaningful Student Involvement: Reciprocity in Schools through Service-Learning," in The Bridge: The Journal of the University Promise Alliance at the University of Minnesota [pdf]. p 37-58. (2004)
"Meaningful Student Involvement," in School Culture: An Introduction [pdf]. Gates Foundation Small Schools Project. (2004)
Meaningful Student Involvement: Guide to Inclusive School Change. HumanLinks Foundation and SoundOut. (2003)
Meaningful Student Involvement Research Guide [pdf]. HumanLinks Foundation and SoundOut. (2003)
Meaningful Student Involvement Resource Guide [pdf]. HumanLinks Foundation and SoundOut. (2003)
Meaningful Student Involvement – An Idea Guide for Schools [pdf]. Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. (2002)
"SoundOut: Serving the School as Community," ServiceLine [pdf]. p 3. (Spring 2003)
"Meaningful Involvement Benefits All Students," ServiceLine [pdf]. p 1. (Summer 2002)

Resources

Many of these frameworks were originally published in the Meaningful Student Involvement Guide to Students as Partners in School Change. For more information or assistance, contact SoundOut.

All original material on this website is copyright © 2009 Adam Fletcher for SoundOut. All rights reserved. For more information write to SoundOut, PO Box 6185, Olympia, Washington 98507 or email info@soundout.org.