What can we learn from preparing students for ICT policymaking in school?

While the body of research on student voice focusing mainly on the rights of students as espoused in the UN (1989) Convention on the Rights of the Child has grown, little work has been done on the relationship between students and leadership (Mitra and Gross, 2009). This paper presents a report on a study that examined the extent to which an atmosphere of shared planning and decision-making might be developed through student leadership, to improve learning with ICT at a case study school. The study builds on the arguments of Smyth (2006), in which he suggests that it is time for schools to move away from old regimes to a different kind of educational leadership that encourages authentic forms of student participation. He proposes learner-centred policy generation as a more inclusive, more democratic way of generating school policies. Democracy itself has been described as fragile (Osler and Starkey, 2006 p 433), partly because there is much variation in its scope and in its interpretation, and also because democratic practice needs continual validation if it is to be successful. But undoubtedly, the essence of democracy is the exposure of different perspectives, which makes it worth aspiring for in the school setting.Such arguments are akin to Luckin’s (2008)plea for the development of a learner-generated context in educational technology, which she regards as a “more democratic learning economy ... where the balance between learner and teacher or mentor control is constantly changing” (p 461). Her arguments hinge on the fact that we are now faced with the situation in schools where many students know more than their teachers about digital learning tools.There is also the issue of students’ participatory rights, such as those elaborated on by Thomson and Gunter (2006). Article 12 of the convention on the rights of the child (UN, 1989) is both a substantive and procedural right entitling children to participate in matters affecting them, such as schooling, as well as enabling them to defend these rights and challenge any disabuse thereof. Lansdown (2000)describe three main ways in which participation of children can be effectively carried out: consultative processes—where the aim is to solicit children’s opinions for informing adult-led initiatives; participative initiatives—in which children are made to understand and apply democratic processes in matters concerning themselves; promoting self advocacy—where children are allow to set the agenda and go about fulfilling these goals themselves. The study addresses all of these.In the study, 30 students (referred to as student researchers) participated in an action research project to develop policy statements about teaching and learning with ICT, for recommendation to the school’s senior management team. I facilitated the project, and analysed and reported on the process of organising students as researchers, and on the consequences of their involvement as policy-makers. The student researchers were volunteers from three sections of my computer applications course. During the autumn term, they designed and conduct teacher-focused and student-focused activities. Throughout the academic year, they met regularly with the High School Technology Consortium—a group consisting of administrators, teachers and student council representatives—to reflect on their strategies, and o the data they collected. The consortium served as “critical friends” to help guide them in a constructive way in developing the ICT policy statements. The student researchers were divided into three groups, according to the sections of my course. The content of the course included, using technology for presenting information, representing data, and reporting. Each class met three times per week for a total of 3 hours 20 minutes. Additional training was provided on gathering and analysing information, and ethical issues to be considered when involving others in the research project.Before starting the project students received instruction on the process of action research, and one of their first tasks will involve reflecting on their technology experiences as students. They were asked to keep a diary in which they record their encounters with ICT in and outside school for one week. The data collected will be used to promote discussion on what they wish to research, their ideas of different types of research actions, and how to observe, record and measure these outcomes. Various roles, such as co-ordinator, secretary, timekeeper and presenter, will be assigned to the students at different stages of the research project on a rotational basis.Students, teachers and administrators were interviewed about the process of involving students in decision-making about learning with ICT. The findings indicate that (a) students have a desire to play a leading role in ICT for learning, (b) teachers and administrators are willing to share power with them in the process of developing school technology policy, and (c) there is need for an atmosphere of shared planning and decision-making about teaching and learning with ICT in school.