Repositioning Student Voice in School: The Process of ‘Becoming Co-operative’

It is widely acknowledged that schools need to take account of student voice, yet in an education landscape where notions of “voice” are increasingly defined by individualistic notions of consumer satisfaction, student voice can all too often take the form of “you said, we did” — with “we” meaning the teaching staff and the school senior leadership team. This article stems from a recent case study in an English co-operative school that brings to the surface what happens when a school attempts to do things differently — as a direct result of its decision to become a co-operative school. The study draws on data collected from observations, staff interviews and student focus groups to explore differing perceptions of what student voice looks like in practice and to identify the spaces of possibility for transformation from passive, individualistic forms of student voice to new imaginaries that promote student voice as agentic and relational. The findings provide an insight into the changes in staff‑student relationships and shifts in power and positionality that have occurred as a direct result of becoming a co-operative school, exploring the potential for schools to develop collective ownership of the education process (Facer et al, 2011).