Student Voice: A Catalyst for Changing School Culture

• In Event: 70.061 - When and Where I Enter: Students Voice Their Perceptions on School and Where They Belong

Abstract

The paper addresses two specific issues: (a) it describes and discusses the benefits of establishing a student voice initiative in a specific middle school, and (b) it explains how this initiative can cause a positive cultural shift in the school. Through analysis of student voice research, philosophies and research about school culture, and an autoenthnographic account about one school’s change initiative to promote/include student voice, the authors describe the significance of such an initiative specific to a suburban middle school and highlight the change in the school’s culture.

Authors

• Brad Talley, Norman Public Schools

• Kathrine J. Gutierrez, University of Oklahoma