Teachers designing student voice initiatives: an exploration of possibilities and perceived risks

Abstract

ABSTRACT There now exists a sizeable body of work around student voice, predominantly through the intervention of researchers. However, given the critical role of teachers in the fruition of student voice efforts, there is a need to further our understanding of such efforts carried out by teachers themselves, particularly within non-Western contexts. Using a case-study approach within an interpretive paradigm, this study investigates how English Language (EL) teachers in Singapore design and enact classroom-based student voice initiatives. Situating such initiatives within Singapore gave rise to curricular, pedagogical, institutional and socio-cultural complexities, given the importance of EL within Singapore’s unique milieu. The findings underscore the need to uncover tacit notions which may otherwise go uninterrogated. While attempts to include student voice within teaching and learning appear riddled with ambiguities and contradictions, this study also suggests that such initiatives present fertile opportunities for teacher praxis to emerge, thereby creating possibilities for teacher development.