Capturing the complexities of student leadership: power, knowledge and practicalities

Over the past decade student participation in school leadership has gained prominence in the field of education. However, the concept of ‘student leadership’ remains broad and elusive, allowing many school leaders to misuse it in ways that serve their own needs. Student leadership is defined here as student participation in activities which promote self-advocacy (Lansdown, 2000: 16). There are very few studies which actually examine the relationship between student leadership and school decision-making. This paper reports on a case study of a student-led project at an independent high school in England. The students direct a consortium of teachers and administrators at the school to draw up policy recommendation on learning with ICT at the school, which are forwarded to the school’s senior management team. Using the case study as reference, this paper argues that student leadership although full of hopes and aspirations for the future of education, is at present fraught with complexities. These include issues of knowledge: when the roles of learner and teacher are reversed, power: based on who decided what is included in the agendas, and the practicalities of time and resources.Lansdown, G. (2000). Promoting children’s participation in democratic decision-making. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Center.