Memorandum from the General Teaching Council
INTRODUCTION
The General Teaching Council for England (GTC)
welcomes the Public Administration Select Committee inquiry Public
Services: Putting People First? This memorandum focuses on
the notion of "pupil voice" in education and how its
principal themes could be applied to consultation on the design
and delivery of public services used by children and young people.
Pupil voice as part of pedagogical practice, particularly within
Assessment for Learning, has considerable currency among educationalists
and the teaching profession. Pupil voice can be described as student
involvement in decisions that affect their learning as well as
their schooling.
This memorandum sets out developments in the
use of pupil voice for teaching and learning, presents some of
the characteristics that research indicates are important for
its success, indicates the barriers that exist to prevent its
further development and suggests that it would be appropriate
for the Select Committee to consider how far this element of educational
strategy could be pursued to involve pupils in the design and
deliver of the education service. The memorandum also sets out
how the GTC, as the independent body for teaching, involves its
own constituency of registered teachers and other education stakeholders
in its activities to support teaching and learning.
The GTC is the independent professional body
for the teaching profession. Its main duties are to regulate the
teaching profession and to advise the Secretary of State and others
on a range of issues that concern teaching and learning. The Council
acts in the public interest to contribute to raising the standards
of teaching and learning.
PUBLIC SERVICES:
EDUCATION
Education differs from other public services
such as health, transport or social services in a number of ways:
— It is compulsory and continuing for
its users.
— Most users have not reached the age
of majority and decisions about their use of the service are normally
made by parents/carers.
— Their use of the service does not
have a contractual basis—buy a ticket/travel by train: pay
council tax/have bins emptied.
— The users undergo major change, growth
and development as they progress through the service and as a
result of it.
In these circumstances the notion of "pupil
voice" and "pupil choice" may initially conjure
ideas of educational anarchy or the legacy of some of the more
progressive educational experiments of the 1960s and 1970s. However,
current research on the potential benefits of developing pupil
voice and the prominence of the five outcomes of the Every
Child Matters agenda bring the idea into the mainstream of
educational policy as well as pedagogy. Research also shows that
even very young pupils respond well to new ways of working and
learning via pupil voice and are quick to grasp the responsibilities
are well as the benefits it brings.
LEARNERS AS
"CONSUMERS"
"Modern society trains us to be workers
and consumers. Post-industrial institutions should train us for
self-management and self-assessment". Charles Leadbeater,
The DIY State, Prospect Magazine, January 2007
The Select Committee has charted the progress
in attitudes towards public services as one which increasingly
places "emphasis on the citizen as `customer' or `user' rather
than a passive recipient of whatever the state sees fit to provide".
Education practice has gone one step beyond this stage to treating
the process of teaching and learning as a collaborative dialogue.
Evidence from the GTC and others shows that the best educational
outcomes result from learners' taking responsibility for their
own learning through a process of negotiation between teachers
and learners whose roles are not fixed. The PELRS project (see
Appendix) showed that classroom roles could successfully be redefined
so that learners could take on the role of teacher for a specific
issue, or the teacher could be recast as a learner. The effect
was to foster more creative ways of learning and circumvent traditional
school practices that can sometimes get in the way of learning.
The GTC believes that consulting pupils and
involving them in teaching and learning approaches—as well
as wider issues affecting the whole school—leads to higher
pupil engagement and attainment. This view is grounded in the
work of many research studies, including the linked studies within
the ESRC's Teaching and Learning Research Programme, led by Jean
Rudduck (see Appendix), whose team examined the benefits and practical
applications of the principle of pupil voice.
The view of education as a "consumable"
has led to perverse outcomes, such as pupils' posting inappropriate
and offensive remarks on the ratemyteacher website and undergraduates'
complaining that their courses are poor value for money—a
complaint more normally and traditionally made by pupils at fee-paying
schools and possibly attributable to the introduction of top-up
fees. The further development of markets in education looks likely
to divorce further learners' ownership of their own learning and
ultimately affect learning outcomes. The GTC believes that the
pupil voice approach, as well as improving educational attainment
for pupils, can counteract these kinds of negative implications
of looking at education as another "consumable".
WHAT IS
PUPIL VOICE?
Pupil voice explicitly encourages young people
to believe that what they say and do makes a difference; that
they are active agents in the way their lives take shape and that
their ideas and experiences matter. It is based on developing
a trusting relationship and a partnership between teachers and
pupils rather than following a didactic approach.
The pupil voice approach gives pupils opportunities
to give feedback on the teaching they receive, for instance on
lesson organisation and teaching techniques, so that lessons can
be planned in partnership between pupils and teachers. Teachers
and pupils work together to design projects, define learning tasks
and to set learning objectives. Pupils are also assessing teachers'
classes and offering constructive feedback, and are increasingly
becoming involved as interviewers for teaching appointments. Pupil
voice additionally encourages pupils to help their peers to learn
and develop through shared projects, peer assessment and activity
beyond the classroom.
Traditionally, pupil voice was most usually
expressed through pupils councils and student forums which have
principally been concerned with non pegagogical issues such as
behaviour, uniform policy and school food. Dialogue on teaching
and learning would take place between the teacher and parent rather
than the pupil, most often when things were going wrong.
Teachers have also sometimes felt under pressure
to cement the teacher/learner relationship as one where knowledge
and skills are transferred rather than exchanged, for fear that
teachers' authority would be eroded. Society's and parents' expectations
can increase such pressure. In fact, research demonstrates that
developing student choice/voice is not a threat to teachers' professional
expertise. The opposite is true. Those teachers who help students
find a voice find their own voices becoming clearer and stronger.
ASSESSMENT FOR
LEARNING AND
PERSONALISED LEARNING
The view that the content and conduct of courses
of study is the exclusive territory of teachers is changing thanks
in part to Assessment for Learning (AfL) and the Government emphasis
on personalisation of learning.
Assessment for Learning is a process which enables
teachers to find out and explore each pupil's learning needs through
a dialogue with the pupil, recognising the importance of pupil
voice, consulting pupils, involving them fully and helping them
take responsibility for their own learning. It helps diagnose
pupil needs by promoting pupil self- and peer-assessment, high-order
and deep questioning by teachers, the use of comment-only marking
and regular feedback on progress.
The GTC has identified pupil voice, along with
Assessment for Learning and Continuing Professional Development
(CPD) for teachers as the critical levers for changing the teaching
and learning culture to open the way for personalised learning.
We considered the Education and Inspections Act 2006 a missed
opportunity for implementing a broad vision of personalised learning
because the Government's interpretation was confined to "catch
up" classes for those at risk of underachievement and programmes
for the gifted and talented. We were therefore encouraged by the
2020 Vision report on teaching and learning by Christine
Gilbert published on 4 January 2007 and in particular welcomed
the report's rich and varied interpretation of personalised learning.
We were pleased to see the report's focus on innovation and the
need to embed Assessment for Learning.
The use of pupil voice in the design and delivery
of public services has precedents. In its public consultation
on Youth Matters the Government asked young people what
they thought needed to change. 60% said that there was not enough
to do in their local area. Section 6 of the Education and Inspections
Act now requires local authorities to secure access for young
people to positive activities such as youth clubs, sports facilities
and art. Local authorities must also take account of young people's
views on existing and future facilities.
The Government also consulted children and young
people on Every Child Matters. They were told that children
and young people's aspirations were:
— Enjoying and achieving.
— Making a positive contribution.
— Maintaining economic well-being.
The reconfiguration and consolidation of children's
services brought about by the Children Act 2002 were designed
to fulfil these five outcomes articulated by children and young
people themselves.
As far as education services are concerned the
GTC would add:
— The right to listen and be heard.
— The right to make informed decisions.
— The right to make a positive difference.
These rights, coupled with the five outcomes
of Every Child Matters, offer a framework to develop services
that can optimise outcomes and create the circumstances for a
broad vision of personalised learning to be realised.
The PELRS research project takes the pupil's
role in the classroom a step further than Assessment for Learning
which aims to transform the relationship between teachers and
pupils from one of delivery/receipt to one of "partners in
pursuit of a shared goal." The PELRS project explored the
sharing of expertise and skills between pupils and teachers as
a learning approach.
THE VALUE
OF PUPIL
VOICE
The value of pupil voice lies in the view that
learning is as active, conscious and complex as teaching. Research
on classroom practice has shown that the roles of teacher and
learner can become fluid—pupils can become teachers and
teachers learners.
This approach welcomes pupil voice as a legitimate
and valuable source of information about:
— Schooling (eg via student councils).
— Teaching (eg feedback to teachers).
— Learning (eg examining with pupils
why successful learning strategies work). Research also shows
that structured talk and conversation is a powerful way to learn
and is the type of learning that sticks in pupils' minds.
WHY SHOULD
WE TAKE
NOTICE OF
PUPIL VOICE?
The benefits of placing greater emphasis on
pupil voice and creating structured opportunities for its expression
are:
— Personal—becoming aware of
others' voices makes young people less self-centred.
— Social—young people bring fresh
ideas and new insights.
— Political—society needs active,
self-aware, problem-solving citizens with a sense of engagement
and belonging which should begin in school.
— Pedagogical—learning how to
express oneself in authentic conversations with others is critical
to the process of learning.
CHARACTERISTICS FOR
THE SUCCESS
OF PUPIL
VOICE
Research indicates some broad characteristics
for the successful development of pupil voice as an approach to
raise the educational attainment of pupils and secure their engagement
in and responsibility for their own learning. These characteristics
also have value as pointers to how pupil voice could be incorporated
into the planning, design and delivery of education services:
Trust—while consulting pupils and
acting on what they say places responsibilities on the pupil it
places even greater responsibilities on those consulting. Research
shows that pupils need to be able to trust that what they say
will not get them into trouble and will not be dismissed or ignored.
Authenticity—pupils are quick to
discern tokenism but are enthusiastic about authentic consultation
that takes their views seriously and where they are able to see
their views contributing to positive change.
Consistency—consistency over time
and consistency of message are both critical to establishing trust
as well as ensuring that pupils understand what is being asked
of them. Developing pupil voice across the school is therefore
key to avoiding a situation where pupils in one class enthusiastically
adopt pupil voice strategies only to find the strategies abandoned
or rejected when they move to another.
Inclusivity—the best outcomes are
achieved where appropriate ways of involving all pupils are employed,
not just older or more articulate one.
BARRIERS TO
THE DEVELOPMENT
OF PUPIL
VOICE
"Instead of imposing yet more targets
and performance management, we need a different picture of how
public services could be organised. The key to this will be to
see service users not as consumers but as participants."
Charles Leadbeater: The DIY State, Prospect Magazine, January
2007
ASSESSMENT
A major barrier to developing pupil voice is
the current assessment system. The assessment system currently
involves one million children taking an average of 70 examinations
before leaving school; 54,000 examiners and moderators and 54
million separate test scripts. The GTC believes that the use of
national tests for national targets and other public accountability
has led to a general view that assessment whose purpose is to
develop learning—where pupil voice is a critical element—is
perceived as second place.
The heavy burden that testing places on pupils
and teachers has distorted and narrowed the curriculum which is
now driven by what is capable of being tested. The PELRS research
points out that the skills around pupil voice are not currently
capable of being assessed. We are in danger of undervaluing a
key teaching and learning strategy because it does not fit easily
into a system designed to measure performance, not improve it.
The GTC has called for a review of the assessment
system and its purposes, and the role of assessment information
including that of performance tables. The GTC proposes the replacement
of testing at Key Stages 1 to 3 with Assessment for Learning better
embedded in schools and the use of an external bank of national
tests to be used by teachers with pupils when they are ready during
the key stage. We also advocate a more school-based model of accountability
with pupils and parents more actively involved in the learning
process and a system of pupil cohort sampling to monitor national
standards over time.
ENCOURAGING THE
DEVELOPMENT OF
PUPIL VOICE
In order to create a formal route for pupil
voice to become part of how education services are developed the
innovative approaches described in the research need to be spread
across the education service. Teachers need continuing professional
development (CPD) support to develop the use of pupil voice as
it can be an unfamiliar and challenging classroom approach. Teachers
and head teachers should be encouraged to take a whole-school
approach to secure consistency for learners.
GTC CONSULTATIONS
From its formation the GTC determined to work
closely with teachers to reveal and develop good professional
practice and to integrate teachers' and others' views, expertise
and experience into policy development. GTC policy development
is based on evidence derived directly from the expertise and experience
of teachers and stakeholders in teaching, in combination with
a range of qualitative and quantative research studies.
A timely example is the GTC's work on assessment,
where we have sought teachers' and others' views through consultation
events across the country as well as through the GTC Annual Teacher
Survey, the largest consultation of teachers' views and experiences,
involving 10,000 teachers from the GTC Register. We also publish
our findings from each step of our consultation processes on the
GTC website and in our magazine teaching to keep teachers
informed, show transparency and recognise their contribution.
CONCLUSION
In its examination of how users of public services
can be more directly involved in their design and delivery the
GTC urges the Public Administration Select Committee to consider
incorporating pupil voice and the characteristics for its success
into mechanisms for consultation, feedback and future development
strategy.
Pupil voice encourages and helps children and
young people to become more engaged, responsible, self-aware,
confident and articulate—just the kind of education experts
that public policy makers need.
Appendix
THE RESEARCH
EVIDENCE
1. PELRS: Developing Pedagogies for E-learning
Resources project based at Manchester Metropolitan University
and funded by the GTC
The project was designed in response to the
fact that the level of spending on ICT in education has not been
matched by the extent of change that is observable in other areas
of society. The project focused, not on ICT skills, but on the
kinds of learning that ICT now makes possible.
The project redefined classroom roles, so that
learners could take on the role of teacher for a specific issue,
or the teacher could be recast as a learner. The effect was to
foster more creative ways of working and circumvent traditional
school practices that can sometimes get in the way of learning.
It showed that the traditional fixed roles of teachers, pupils
and others can be challenged and negotiated and placed in creative
tension in order to find new ways of working.
The pupils welcomed the chance to take responsibility
for their own learning. The project also found that opportunities
for collaboration on joint ICT projects was very effective in
helping learners to take control of their learning as well as
in engaging with the curriculum content set out by the teachers.
Pupils could work independently and interdependently to gain expertise
in a particular theme which they then shared with peers through
presentations and coaching.
Pupils' engagement was increased through working
in groups, taking control of learning, negotiating timescales
and examining why successful learning strategies work. These kind
of skills are not capable of being assessed in the current national
testing system.
2. Teaching and Learning Research Programme
by Prof Jean Rudduck, 2005
The three year project involved 48 primary and
secondary schools examining what pupils say about teaching and
learning.
It found that a trusting relationship between
pupils and institutions was required and that pupils were anxious
about "retaliation" where a trusting relationship did
not exist. Equity and authenticity were necessary to fill the
space where the traditional power relationships would normally
be.
When pupils' perspectives were taken seriously
they felt more positive about themselves as learners, could understand
and manage their own progress better and felt more included in
the school's purposes.
Consulting pupils also benefited teachers—it
helped them understand how to support pupil engagement and build
more open, collaborative and communicative relationships with
pupils.
Rudduck also noted that "more self-assured
middle class pupils who talk the language of the school tend to
dominate conversations and teachers tend to privilege them in
conversation." She also found that pupils are very quick
to realise when consultation is tokenistic.
Rudduck concludes that pupil voice can increase
engagement. In a survey as part of the research 84% of teachers
felt that consultation had a positive impact on pupil self-esteem
and 80% thought it was helping pupils to have a more positive
attitude to school and learning.
3. Fielding, M (2001a). (Ed) Pupil Participation
(special issue) Forum, 43, 2
Fielding maintains that by eliciting the learner
voice the learner will:
— Feel their views are taken seriously,
making them feel more respected.
— Be better able to see how their views
translate into positive outcomes for their learning and the educational
establishment.
— Be more inclined to reflect and discuss
their learning.
January 2007
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