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The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which students in a public middle school think that their voices are considered in educational decision-making processes in comparison to school administrator opinions regarding the viability of student voice inclusion for educational decision-making processes in the context of public school models. The scope of the study included 25 middle school students and two administrators—one building-level, and one district-level—from a large Midwestern suburban district. Qualitative methodology based on grounded theory provided a framework for analysis of data gathered from focus group interviews of students and survey responses from school administrators. Limitations of the study were the homogeneity of the study participants, the small sample size, and the limited time window for data collection imposed by the researcher's academic institution. The findings of the study were that students think their voices should be included in decisions directly impacting their academic study in meaningful ways. Further findings were that the building-level administrator embraced the concept of student voice inclusion in academic decisions and cited ways that it is currently used in academic decisions at the classroom level. The district-level administrator, however, indicated limitations that made it neither fair nor feasible for student voice to be included in academic decision-making processes. The study contributes to the literature by providing data-based evidence documenting the extent to which student voice was utilized in academic decision-making processes as well as data-based support for the potential viability of the inclusion of student voice in future school models.
Advisor: | James, E. Alana |
Commitee: | Pelofsky, Jerald J., Smith, C. Richard |
School: | Jones International University |
Department: | School of Education |
School Location: | United States -- Colorado |
Source: | DAI-A 73/02, Dissertation Abstracts International |
Source Type: | DISSERTATION |
Subjects: | Middle School education, Education Policy, School administration |
Keywords: | 21st century skills, Decision-making, School model reform, Student voice |
Publication Number: | 3479083 |
ISBN: | 978-1-124-97188-9 |