What Would Happen If We Treated Students as Those With Opinions That Matter? The Benefits to Principals and Teachers of Supporting Youth Engagement in School
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online December, 2007
What Would Happen If We Treated Students as Those With Opinions That Matter? The Benefits to Principals and Teachers of Supporting Youth Engagement in School
The author discusses a project that a fords high school principals an opportunity to create collaborative relationships between members of their school communities and college-based teacher education programs. In its 13 years, this collaboration has been shown to increase student and teacher engagement: Students gain perspective on what goes into teaching and learning, develop a voice to talk about the experiences they have and would like to have in school, and work toward creating more productive schooling experiences, and teachers are a forded time to engage in conversations with students about what matters to and a fects them and to strengthen their relationships with students. The author o fers concrete recommendations to principals on initiating partnerships with colleges, universities, or departments of teacher education, integrating such partnerships into the culture of their schools, and recruiting and rewarding teachers committed to student voice and engagement.
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