Student participation in Irish primary schools

Abstract

ABSTRACT This research explores the perceptions of 125 primary school students (ages 8–12) in two Educate Together schools in Ireland. As a national network, established over 40 years, Educate Together schools are characterised as equality-based, child-centred, participative and democratic. This ethos is set out in the Educate Together Charter and clarified through the recent development of the Educate Together Ethos Quality Framework. This article explores the understanding of student participation in literature and what it means in practice for Educate Together schools. Using a survey to gather data, the key research questions are as follows: How do students perceive their participation in school: (1) in the classroom; (2) outside the classroom and (3) in decision-making at the whole school level. This research attempts to build on the small number of previous studies where student participation in school was explored from the student's perspective. The descriptive quantitative and qualitative findings indicate a relatively high level of participation across these key arenas of school life, and the findings differentiate between those participation activities that are experienced, more or less commonly among students. The study considers the enabling environment created by Educate Together to ensure that student participation is part of school culture.