Student pedagogic voice in the literacy classroom: a review

ABSTRACT

In this paper we identify and systematically analyse research regarding student voice in the classroom, with the aim of suggesting areas and questions to strengthen the research base. The introductory section presents a rationale for, and definition of, voice, followed by details of how the systematic analysis was conducted. A consideration of what has been termed pedagogic voice leads to our offering a definition with more encompassing parameters in terms of the dimensions research should consider. The components of our definition are then applied to existing studies of pedagogic voice. Our analyses show that few consider the whole picture; specifically, few present evidence of response to student voice or of outcomes from that response. Such evidence is needed to evaluate the extent to which student voice is instrumental in the enhancement of teaching and learning. Researchers of voice, particularly as it relates to the classroom, need to design studies to trace more systematically the soliciting of voice or the opportunity for voice to be employed; through to the hearing, the reception and response; to the outcome of that response in terms of changed practice, including student awareness of their part in the changed practice, to the outcomes for learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Student voice
• systematic analysis
• teaching and learning
• teacher response to student voice

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our University of Auckland Summer scholar, Andrew Green and graduate assistant Moira Newton for their help in locating and identifying of relevant literature for this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. In te ao Māori, the concept of ako means both to teach and to learn. It recognises the knowledge that both teachers and learners bring to learning interactions, and it acknowledges the way that new knowledge and understandings can grow out of shared learning experiences.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Judy Parr

Judy M. Parr is Professor of Education at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.  Her research, much of which has been large-scale, is grounded in improvement science, focusing on enhancing professional practice and student learning in literacy, particularly writing.

Eleanor Hawe

Eleanor Hawe is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work. Her teaching and research focus on assessment for learning, particularly goal setting, feedback (including peer feedback), use of exemplars, development of students’ evaluative and productive expertise, and student self-regulation across a range of contexts.