Addressing Wicked Problems Through Participatory Processes: Renewed Methods for K-12 Governance and Decision Making

• In Event: Voice and Power in K-12 Education Policy Decisions

Abstract

School safety is a wicked problem that involves threats of violence, student well-being, and debates over punitive discipline and School Resource Officers (SROs). One large, urban southwest high school district (SWHSD) used two parallel participatory processes, School Participatory Budgeting (SPB) and a Safety Committee (SC), to engage the broader school community in a collaborative decision-making process on safety. In this case study, I explore the tensions and promise of participatory processes as methods of co-governance, and the inclusion and impact of student voice in such processes utilizing the Empowered Deliberative Democracy (EDD) framework. Findings support some of the EDD principles and highlight the potential and challenges of participatory processes. Recommendations are provided for addressing complex issues through participatory processes.

Author

• Tara Lynn Bartlett, Arizona State University