Tensions of student voice in higher education: Involving students in degree programme curricula design

ABSTRACT

This paper considers the direct involvement of students in degree programme curricula design, specifically four computer science teacher students designing new curricula for the Faculty of Information Technology of the University of Jyväskylä. They participated in a project to make recommendations for the 2017–2020 master’s and bachelor’s programme curricula. We examined how these recommendations were implemented in the new curricula and what hindered student voice. The project led to major changes: making basic studies in mathematics optional, adding three new courses, and defining new learning goal descriptions for two master’s programmes. Several factors hindered student voice: insufficient perceived expertise, doubts about project significance, negative attitudes towards student involvement, and lack of personal interest. Hence, despite the project leading to considerable changes, the students themselves expressed rather critical attitudes towards student involvement in curriculum design. Consequently, promoting student voice in higher education curricula design is a more tensioned phenomenon than has been discussed in earlier research.

KEYWORDS:

• Curriculum design
• student voice
• student participation
• higher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The Faculty of Information Technology of the University of Jyväskylä, accessed 23.4.2019, https://www.jyu.fi/it/en.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ari Tuhkala

Ari Tuhkala works as a post doctoral researcher at the Finnish Institute for Educational Research in the University of Jyväskylä. His dissertation in computer science (educational technology) examined teacher involvement through participatory design. His research interests include computer science education, technology enhanced learning and natural language processing with computational methods.

Antti Ekonoja

Antti Ekonoja works as a University Teacher in the field of educational technology at the Faculty of Information Technology in the University of Jyväskylä. His teaching topics are educational technology projects, production of learning materials, role of ICT in education, and information technology for teachers.

Raija Hämäläinen

Raija Hämäläinen works in the field of technology-enhanced learning at the Department of Education in the University of Jyväskylä. Belonging to the elite or the top 3% in the world, the research centre is among the leading European research groups. She is an associate editor of Educational Research Review (5-Year Impact Factor: 5.655).