This project explores 'meaningful' student voice development in an evaluation of project-based Character lessons taught by teachers and students. In the context of a secondary school in a deprived urban ward, within a Multi-Academy Trust using value-based instruction, this evaluation is grounded in the notion that student empowerment is essential…

This Brief Resource addresses anxiety and the dire impact anxiety has on student well-being and performance. Anxiety prevents students from focusing, concentrating, feeling safe, grounded, and at ease. There are immeasurable numbers of students who are experiencing anxiety during this pandemic. Social Emotional Learning works to enhance students'…

Although considerable research has explored what it means to be a leader from an adult perspective, little has been conducted from the student perspective as an integral component of leadership education, decision making, or educational change. Findings from a longitudinal qualitative case study presented in this article reveal how youth perceive…

Primary school approaches to student voice and leadership rarely change, despite concerns about manipulation and tokenism. This single case study investigated an approach to student voice and student leadership in an Australian primary school that was very different to a traditional student council. Thematic analysis of school documents and staff…

A pedagogical model called student-led academic teaming takes a different approach to personalizing instruction and meeting the multifaceted needs of each student without increasing teacher fatigue and burnout. With student-led academic teaming, students take increased ownership and accountability for their own and their peers' learning, relieving…

Background: Obesity continues to afflict adolescents in underserved communities. It is difficult to understand how adolescents perceive empowerment over their health and the health of their communities. The purpose of our study was to describe the impact of the Healthy Heart Ambassador program on adolescents' perceived empowerment through the…

English learners in EFL contexts where grammar-based instruction is still dominant often lack opportunities to use the target language both within and outside the classroom. In 2010, we initiated a club-based approach to facilitate students' learning beyond the classroom. It focused on meaningful communication, authentic tasks, student agency,…

Despite growing scholarly interest in student voice and leadership over the past two decades, both terms continue to be used with little consensus about their meaning. They are also often evoked without much clarity or agreement as to how they should be enabled or enacted, for what purposes they should be fostered, or what conditions are necessary…

This chapter shows how student positioning by adults shapes opportunities for students to learn collective systemic agency including practices such as organizing others, developing a systemic analysis, and taking action in complex institutions, such as schools. We argue that these learning opportunities are expanded when education professionals…

This multiple case study examines practices of educators in high schools called "odds-beaters". These schools are exemplary in that they consistently achieve better-than-predicted graduation outcomes among economically disadvantaged, African-American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, and English language learners. Findings from this study revealed…

This chapter is about a unique partnership between Ravenscroft, a pre-K-12th grade independent school in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Center for Creative Leadership. Starting in pre-K, Ravenscroft students embark on the Lead From Here initiative that inspires and empowers them to become citizen leaders.

Bullying prevention and intervention are ongoing challenges for all educators, school psychologists included. A lack of research exists regarding the potential role of middle school students as direct actors in bullying prevention and intervention. This article describes a novel student leadership group for seventh graders in which the primary…

This study examines why a group of students representing two high schools became involved in an activist organization, the benefits they gained as a result, the impact they had on their school and community, and their recommendations for how school personnel can foster civic engagement in young people. The student-led group campaigned for a school…

Traditionally, schools have often made decisions about instruction, discipline, and other schoolwide policies without youth involvement. And yet, research suggests that when students have choice, control, and leadership opportunities, their motivation and engagement increase, which in turn is linked with better educational outcomes. This new guide…

This study seeks to understand how a group of boys in a Durban township achieved exceptional educational results despite the severe financial, social and educational constraints they faced. Their high school typified the worst failings of the South African educational system, but they achieved academic success in the matriculation and at…