Spoken word poetry is an art form that has the propensity to engage students in critical thinking and empower them to use voice to represent their perspectives regarding controversial issues. Infusion of spoken word poetry in social studies classroom serves as a powerful means of self-representation for youth and alternative perspectives at a time…

This paper describes one child voice enabling strategy that allowed children in sixth class in an urban primary school in Ireland to have a say in the organisation of their learning. The lack of involvement that children have in the organisation of their school week was questioned and this prompted an investigation into a new approach to enabling…

Student misbehaviour is an increasing problem of contemporary school. The aim of this research was to examine the extent to which teachers perceive student misbehaviour, how self-efficient they are, how satisfied they feel with support from their environment and with the teaching job itself, and to which extent they experience the burnout…

The study examined the level of autonomy among basic school teachers in the Central Region of Ghana and the effect of teacher demographic characteristics on the level of teacher autonomy. The explanatory sequential design was adopted. Using the systematic sampling technique, a total of 315 basic school teachers were sampled for the quantitative…

While a renewed national dialog promotes the importance of science education for future technological and economic viability, students must find science personally relevant to themselves and their communities if the goals set forth in recent reform movements are to be achieved. In this paper, we investigate how incorporating an ecological…

The enactment of neoliberal ideologies in education, in particular the extension of free-market logics, has the potential to reposition students and affect if and how their voices are elicited and responded to. There is, however, a dearth of research that seeks to understand how students are experiencing neoliberal influences on their education.…

Pupil involvement in planning is one way in which teachers listen to the "pupil voice". This paper focuses on pupil involvement in planning class topics using KWL grids. The opinions of teachers, teacher education students and primary school pupils in Northern Ireland were sought on this using questionnaires and interviews. The vast…

Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade (2009) wrote that if failure to provide quality education continues, it will not be because we lack the know-how to effectively educate all children, it is because we lack the resolve to do it. As a steadfast leader of teaching and collaborating with children, Duncan-Andrade mentors hope in students and teachers alike. This…

This paper reports the opportunities and challenges faced by first generation learners, all of whom were designated as being from scheduled tribes and scheduled castes, accessing education in a rural community in the state of Maharashtra, India. The design of the research and the methods used for this child-centred study aimed to generate data to…

The purpose of this study is to explore student perceptions regarding the transition from elementary school to middle school and to provide an opportunity for student voice to be included in the develop of an improved, data-informed, comprehensive transition program designed to assist all students as they move through this transition. Secondary…

Teacher turnover is a significant issue in education that negatively affects students' academic performance and instructional continuity. While multiple factors impact turnover, the effects of violence directed against teachers on turnover have rarely been explored. The current study examines the extent to which (dis)empowerment applies to…

Popular conceptions of school administrative clerks and school secretaries imply that they have little agency because they are deemed as subordinate support staff. However, the literature across a range of fields suggests that these subordinates exercise agency. We set out in this article to explore the workings of subordinate agency. The article…

Identities are dynamic, constantly shifting processes of self-understanding mediated by local and institutional repertoires, behaviors, resources and enacted through one's positioning in practice. This definition considers identities as both ideas, as well as actions in terms of how the learner becomes a participant in activities. A tension in…

In this case study, the author showcases a Mexican teen's "testimonios," crossing borders through poetry and art. The author grounds this work within Anzaldúa's "nepantla" (in-between space) and "nepantlera" border artist notions and draws from Sepúlveda's pedagogy of "acompañamiento" (accompaniment). During…

This article discusses how the Kindness Initiative at the Dr. Michael Conti School in Jersey City, New Jersey, where the author is the school librarian and a literacy support teacher, promotes a climate where students feel accepted. As they progress from pre-K through middle school, students are exposed to social justice literature designed to get…