How Positioning Shapes Student Engagement in Action Civics

• In Event: The Intersection of Student Voice and Educational Leadership: Opportunities and Obstacles

Abstract

Objective:
Our study examines two classrooms that organized action research projects as part of their regular curriculum. Through the analysis of these projects we seek to illuminate certain classroom- and school-level conditions that contribute to either student engagement or frustration. Specifically we ask: How might schools support student learning in civic domains in ways that expand possibilities for students to be active participants in school leadership?
Literature and Theoretical Perspective:
In the last decade urban schools serving youth of color have taken on an increasingly technocratic approach to education—aimed at reducing the “achievement gap” on high-stakes tests—and have lost sight of the civic mission of schools. It can be difficult to find examples where schools nurture robust civic engagement and student participation in decision-making. Classroom activities have been removed from students’ everyday lives, knowledge is treated as static, and students’ default stance becomes “doing school” (Rubin et al, 2009). In this context, tensions exist between traditional civics instruction and more experiential, action-oriented approaches (Fehrman, D., & Schutz, A., 2011; Ozer, Ritterman, & Wanis, 2010); Rubin, 2011).
Study Context, Methods, and Data Sources:
We draw on data from Critical Civic Inquiry (CCI), a university-school partnership in which teachers guide students through an action research cycle. Our approach to civics education is shaped by recent scholarship emphasizing the importance of opportunities for experiential, action-oriented civics (Kahne & Middaugh, 2008; Levine, 2012; Levinson, 2012). CCI draws on the methodology of design-based research, in which learning scientists design, study, and refine theory-based innovations in real learning environments (Sandoval & Bell, 2004). In this case, the innovation is a combination of critical sociology and participatory action research: students from historically marginalized groups reflect on their experiences in schools, identify a common problem experienced by members of the group, study it systematically, and develop strategies to address the problem in partnership with adult school personnel (e.g., Cammarota, 2007).
Results:
Our analysis looks at the ways in which school and classroom level positioning of students can facilitate or hinder student learning. We find that the extent to which students expressed a sense of belonging and accountability to a shared goal was shaped by the ways in which teachers and students framed the roles available within the classrooms and schools. These spaces were shaped in part by what adults expected of students. When it was expected that students would not contribute to positive school change, adults were less likely to participate in dialogue, and did not provide students with sufficient opportunities to learn productive group practices.
Significance:
These findings contribute to the under-researched intersection of student voice and educational leadership by providing concrete examples of how adults and students co-construct the conditions for young people to contribute to school decision making. These examples point to the importance of relational work: both for learning in civic domains and for student outcomes in action research projects.

Authors

• Adam J. York, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Ben R. Kirshner, University of Colorado