- By admin
- June 12, 2019
The adoption of ESSA has resulted in many education priority shifts. Many of these shifts focus on equity and access, whole child learning, and additional academic needs for students. However, one that is particularly interesting is the enhanced focus on positive school culture and climate. In order to encourage positive culture in schools, a fact sheet was released and distributed to point out the multitude of research, strategies, and tips for schools to better improve climate and culture. There are many facets to school culture discussed in this fact sheet, but the push to include student perspectives in decision-making is perhaps one of the more interesting and controversial ways to build trust and improve teacher-student relationships.
A previous study on teacher-student relationships found that allowing students to help evaluate their teachers was associated with more positive reports of classroom climate. In other words, when students were given the opportunity to evaluate their educators, climate improved. This was likely due to student feeling ownership over their academic experiences and teachers becoming aware of students’ perceptions of the class they might not have otherwise known. This process was generally viewed positively by teachers and students.
However, student voice in evaluations has been somewhat controversial in the past. For one thing, many argue that students are not an entirely reliable source for teacher evaluation. Students might be easily biased, according to this study on higher education teaching practices, and motivated by grades or other desired outcomes. It is often feared that students will evaluate teachers based on their own levels of success in the classroom, wishing teachers taught less challenging material for example.
However, this same study also examined the potential benefits of students evaluating instructors and found that students can often provide highly useful information about the effectiveness of certain teaching methods and fairness of the class. Researchers found that some educators were quite surprised by what their students were able to pick up on. Some were given low ratings on their ability to explain difficult concepts and were able to use this feedback to alter instruction. Others were pleased that students found certain aspects of their courses very helpful and would not have received this feedback otherwise.
The impacts of student voice can be felt beyond the classroom as well. Last year, EdWeek released this video, which follows a student in her desire to add her voice to policy making in her district. The student is eager and excited to be heard by her superintendent, and many video participants expressed awe and surprise at her insightful ideas and well-executed speeches. This student relied on a teacher as a mentor through this process, and with the support of her instructor, she was able to enact change in her community.
Student voice, therefore, is a positive and important component of teaching. If we don’t allow students, the primary consumers of public education, to have a say, how can we be sure we’re best meeting their needs?