School environments offer a particularly difficult setting for fostering youth-adult partnerships because of the sharp power and status distinctions among students, teachers, and administrators. Drawing on interview and observational data examining 13 student-voice initiatives in northern California, this research examines the type of supports…

Describes a discussion on child advocacy that the author initiated among fifth graders. Children were surprised at being asked for their opinion on improving their educational situation. Their main problem was getting adults to listen. Advocacy, as one child affirmed, is a matter of making a case carefully, vividly, compellingly so that others…