Scope and quality of student participation in school: towards an analytical framework for adolescents

Abstract

There is growing support for the relevance of adolescents' participation in school, as a result of different works which focus on singular aspects of pupils' involvement. Yet, there is a lack of advancement in regard to integral analytical frameworks that are capable of providing fundamental dimensions and concepts in the study and evaluation of student participation in school. This article aims to fill the gap by introducing an analytical framework for a more holistic examination of such practices. By using data from a mixed methods research, which included qualitative work in two schools from contrasting municipalities of Mexico City, and a representative survey (n = 828) of third grade students from the secondary schools in these two areas, the article shows the empirical applicability of the model, and reveals its capacity for mapping, understanding and evaluating student participation in school from an integral perspective, based on two fundamental dimensions of inquiry: scope and quality.