Previous research related to Youth Adult Partnership, Empowerment and Empowering Environments, and Liberatory School Design all highlight the importance of relationships in ensuring that young people experience school environments as empowering. Currently, there is a lot of interest and energy around redesigning schools to be Learner-Centered, in…

Massachusetts General Law does not recognize students as stakeholders in school turnaround, despite extant literature supporting the benefits of including students as decision makers in their education experiences. The purpose of this Action Research study was to understand why student voices are critical to successful school turnaround, and to…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore African American students and school administrators' experiences with out-of-school suspension (OSS) and their perceptions of strategies to reduce suspensions. Researchers have identified research-based strategies to reduce OSS, including restorative practices and Positive Behavior…

This study aimed to research the impact Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) programs have on the development of student agency in high school students. AVID was founded in San Diego, California by teacher Mary Catherine Swanson in 1980 (AVID.org). The AVID framework is divided into two sections, "What Students Need" and…

Self-determination is a predictor of positive in- and post-school outcomes, including access to general education, competitive employment, and community participation. Emerging research has focused on promoting self-determination for all students given alignments with college and career readiness frameworks and equity-based education. However, it…

This qualitative case study explores how urban high schools implement a district-initiated student-voice program, referred to as Student Advisory Committees, intended to improve school climate. The study uses an implementation science framework to analyze interview data from principals and advisors in 22 urban high schools. An iterative, top-down…

This interdisciplinary article examines literature across Education, Social Work, and Chicano/a/Latino/a Studies. By interweaving the literature with student voices, clinical knowledge and field observations, the authors use a Community Cultural Wealth Framework to highlight an afterschool program that empowers and encourages Latinx youth to use…

Background: Sexual violence (SV) is a serious public health concern, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ+) youth report higher rates than their heterosexual and cisgender peers. This qualitative study aimed to understand LGBTQ+ students' perspectives on how middle and high school environments can better prevent…

Founded on the principles of place-based education, land-based learning collaboratively engages learners and community members in a four-step process of identification, understanding, intervention, and evaluation to enhance the sustainability of community-based agricultural systems. While scholars have provided the philosophical foundation for…

Background/Context: The "college-for-all" movement has guided education reform efforts over the last few decades. Of college-for-all adopters, the "no-excuses" charter school model is arguably the most successful and controversial. Schools that use this model produce high standardized test scores and four-year college…

We report on a playful introduction of optimization in a high school. The final event of this experience has been an orienteering competition, in which the decision-making component plays a central role. This type of event has been very involving, and it boosted the interest of the students toward operations research. After summarizing the…

Many students are hesitant to provide class input while others are eager to elaborate on their thoughts and feelings about physical education. As a result, some attempts to provide students with a voice risk overlooking students who are already reluctant to express themselves. Systematic approaches to provide voice to all students may help promote…

Despite the popularity of student voice initiatives, there is ample evidence that they fail to challenge power relations at school or help marginalized students make their voices heard. This paper presents a student voice project based on the Photovoice method. The project was implemented with marginalized youth in an urban high school in Israel.…

In the present study, I attempted to understand how students perceive their voice in the 2900 student public high school where I serve as principal. The study is a qualitative inquiry that combines human-centered design and action research for its conceptual framework. My dual roles of researcher and principal influenced every aspect of this…

Many effective strategies exist to keep students safe, supported, and engaged in school. Restorative practice (RP) is a powerful approach for achieving these goals as it elevates student voice and can strengthen school climate. Annie M. White and John Kenneth Weiss share findings from an initiative through which high school student-faculty teams…