Abstract
Co-production techniques that involve student voice have been shown to empower young people and shape their learning experiences, while widening participation approaches can improve students' educational aspirations. However, there is limited literature on the impact that a combination of co-production and widening participation approaches might have on students' learning, aspirations and self-esteem in the UK. The Research Methods in School Education (RISE) educational course aims to: (1) create a collaborative educational activity through co-production, giving young people an opportunity to voice their opinions; (2) raise awareness of community health issues; and (3) increase access to higher education. This paper describes and evaluates co-producing the RISE educational course with students and teachers from a sixth-form college in south-east London, drawing on students' voice, and on insights from teachers and researchers. We also assess the contribution of the course to improved awareness of community health issues, students' educational or career aspirations, and self-esteem.
Highlights
Young people’s everyday school experiences provide a wealth of knowledge to enable them to co-produce effective learning experiences
Co-production was integrated throughout the Research Methods in School Education (RISE) process, and was received positively by students
RISE was found to have broader implications in terms of boosting confidence and empowering young people through participatory engagement. Such findings around student empowerment align well with co-production findings (Simmons et al, 2015) and widening-participation-related approaches (Michels and Eijkelhof, 2018), showing the potential of the course to encourage young people to continue with further education, and to some extent inspire their choice of degree course
Summary
Young people’s everyday school experiences provide a wealth of knowledge to enable them to co-produce effective learning experiences. Drawing on the student voice has been emergent in educational reform over the last couple of decades, and involves gaining unique perspectives from young people on learning, teaching and schooling (Cook-Sather, 2006). To positively involve student voice requires listening to and acting on students’ perspectives and affording them opportunities to engage in shaping their education (Cook-Sather, 2002). The theory of co-production grew in the late 1970s in the USA, focusing on collaboration between service providers and clients to improve public services (Ostrom, 1996). Using a co-production approach, they demonstrated students’ capacity to share their experiences in a way that could improve school environments and relationships to promote student well-being (Simmons et al, 2015). Literature on the impact of school-based co-production educational initiatives on students’ awareness of local issues, their aspirations and their self-esteem is limited in a UK educational context
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