More Than a Seat at the Table: Reimagining Power and Participation in K-12 Educational Governance

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 3:45 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: From Courtrooms to Classrooms: The Politics of Reform

Abstract

This study interrogates the persistent gap between the rhetoric of stakeholder inclusion and the reality of tokenistic participation in K-12 school governance. Drawing on interviews, focus groups, and participant observation from pilots of school participatory budgeting (School PB), dialogical school board meetings, and teacher teaming, the research finds that, despite procedural reforms, power and agenda-setting remain largely adult-centered. However, innovations like School PB and teacher-powered teaming increase participants’ sense of agency, belonging, and trust. Accessibility barriers and skepticism persist, yet tangible, student-chosen outcomes foster civic efficacy. The findings argue for structural redesigns that pair procedural reforms with power-sharing, capacity-building, and trust-building, moving schools beyond symbolic consultation toward authentic democratic co-creation.

Authors

• Mikah Dyer, Arizona State University

• Tara Lynn Bartlett, Arizona State University