Quality Indicators Developed Through Student Voice

Abstract

Students have a fundamental right to quality education and quality teaching (Cochran - Smith et al., 2017). This right is encoded in international mandates such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights [ICESCR] (United Nations, 1999) and embraced by wider agenda s for quality education through the Sustainable Development goals (United Nations, 2015) . These mandates and agendas not only assert this fundamental student right but also recognise students as essential arbiters of quality education and teaching : “the form and substance of education, including curricula and teaching methods, have to be acceptable (e.g. relevant, culturally appropriate and of good quality) to students ...” (United Nations, 1999 – emphasis added ). Ironically, student voices were absent during the drafting of UN mandates (Lundy & Cook-Sather, 2016) . Likewise, c all s for improved teacher quality to ensure better educational outcomes for students (Darwin, 2016) usually confer the responsibility for quality determinations on educator s and employer s and privilege the institutional perspective. Student voice is often overlooked not only in articulating what students’ rights in education might entail but also as a source of quality assurance in education and teaching. This entry defines “student voice,” identifies its purposes, and provides examples of how it is employed in initial and continuing teacher education at the tertiary level. These examples of both secondary student and pre-service teacher voice illustrate how student voice can contribute to the development of meaningful quality indicator s as part of larger quality assurance agendas.