Review
Effects of student participation in decision making at school. A systematic review and synthesis of empirical research

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Abstract

This article reviews empirical research on the effects of student participation in school decision-making processes. Out of 3102 searched citations, a total of 32 publications met the inclusion criteria. The qualitative analyses employed in this review yielded a typology of student participation, a categorisation of the diverse effects of student participation and an overview of the quality and quantity of related research (available evidence). We found moderate evidence of positive effects of student participation on life skills, self-esteem and social status, democratic skills and citizenship, student–adult relationships and school ethos. We found limited evidence of positive effects on academic achievement, facilities, rules or policies, and health; we also found low levels of evidence of negative effects. We did not find sufficient research on the positive effects of student participation on peer relationships or on effects on teachers. Different forms of student participation seem to have different effects, but first and foremost, this review indicates a need for more comprehensive high quality research.

Highlights

► Student participation can have a multitude of effects on the individual, interactional and organisational level. ► Strongest evidence of positive effects on school ethos, self-esteem, democratic and life skills, student–adult relationships. ► Little evidence of positive effects on academic achievement, facilities, rules or policies, health and peer relationships. ► Future research need to focus on gender differences, influences of age and school systems, and possible negative effects.

Section snippets

Background

Participation and democracy in education are not new phenomena (e.g., Dewey, 1916). They have been highlighted from different perspectives and with a focus on varying aims and supposed effects. The concept of giving students the right to ‘a voice’ emerged within the ‘student power’ movement in the 1960s and early 1970s and more recently developed in ‘student voice’ initiatives in schools (Levin, 2000, Mitra, 2009, Rudduck, 2007). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989

Student participation

We defined student participation as student involvement in collective decision-making processes at the school or class level that included dialogue between students and other decision-makers. This definition does not use the term ‘participation’ to mean ‘taking part’ or ‘being present’ but instead suggests that students have some influence over the decisions being made and actions being taken. According to this definition, one-off consultations and simple forms of pupil participation such as

Search results

After screening 3102 titles and abstracts and assessing 242 full-texts for eligibility, we identified 32 publications that met the inclusion criteria (see Fig. 1).

Of the 32 publications included in the review, 10 publications used quantitative methods, 13 used qualitative methods, and 9 used mixed methodologies. The included studies varied greatly in (a) their research design and methods of data collection (they included single case reports, comparative case studies and cross-sectional surveys

Discussion

With this review and synthesis of empirical research, we present a categorisation and map of the diverse possible effects of student participation, a categorisation of student participation in decision-making processes at school and an overview of the corresponding levels of available evidence.

In general, this review shows that student participation can have a broad array of effects, from personal effects on students to effects on interactions among people in the school and effects on the

Conclusions

This review shows that moderate evidence exists for positive effects of student participation on life skills, self-esteem and social status, democratic skills and citizenship, student–adult relationships, and school ethos. It also highlights the lack of high quality research on the associations between student participation and peer relationships, student health and academic achievement, and changes to facilities, rules and policies. There is a critical need for additional measurement studies

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Rudolf Forster, Benjamin Marent, Robert Griebler, Rosemarie Felder-Puig, Christina Dietscher and Wolfgang Dür for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article and Philipp Petersen and John Freeman for assistance with retrieving the full-text articles.

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