Voices on “voice”: A juxtaposition of teachers’ and students’ perspectives on the possibilities and challenges of student voice in teaching and learning

ABSTRACT

How student voice is viewed is complex. Increasingly, effort has been made to include student voice in teaching and learning, with student voice positioned in different ways, from the instrumental to the transformative. The success and sustainability of student voice efforts require a more critical understanding of the participatory efforts of both teachers and students, as well as the interplay between teachers’ and students’ voices. Using a case-study approach, within an interpretive paradigm, this study explores teachers’ and students’ discourses on student voice at the beginning of a larger study situated within five English Language classrooms in Singapore. The findings highlight the discursive framings of both teachers and students and foreground spaces of convergence and divergence. Both teachers and students share similar views on the possibilities and promises of student voice in teaching and learning, which centred largely around pedagogic and performative reasons. The data also revealed a shared sense of vulnerability and fear, surfacing real, yet tacit and lesser known boundaries and issues which both teachers and students see as affecting student voice efforts. The findings suggest that student voice work needs to be situated in an environment of trust and authentic listening to harness its potential.

KEYWORDS:

• student voice
• perspectives
• teaching and learning
• classroom curriculum

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lucy Fernandez

Lucy Fernandez has held various positions at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, including Assistant Dean, Programme Leader, Lecturer and Senior Teaching Fellow. She has extensive experience teaching in schools and across myriad programmes at NIE, from the undergraduate and post-graduate levels to leadership and professional development courses for educators. Her teaching and research interests include Student Voice, Differentiated Instruction, English Language Teaching, Curriculum Leadership and Teacher Professional Development.

Mary Anne Heng

Mary Anne HENG is Associate Professor, Policy, Curriculum and Leadership and former Associate Dean at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Dr. Heng’s work focuses on critical issues and interrelationships in teaching, learning, policy and leadership that drive purposeful and transformative educational change. She researches and publishes in the areas of youth purpose, meaning and wellbeing, curriculum innovation and leadership, and in differentiated curricula and teaching for diverse learners in regular classrooms.

Christine Lee Kim Eng

Christine Kim-Eng Lee is adjunct senior fellow from the Policy, Curriculum and Leadership Academic Group, National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. She held several leadership positions in NIE as Academic Group Head and Vice-Dean. Christine played an active role in the international lesson study community as President of the World Association of Lesson Studies (WALS) from 2011 to 2016. She is a recipient of the Teachers College, Columbia University, NY Distinguished Alumni Award and NTU’s Nanyang Award for Excellent Service. Her research interests are in the areas of curriculum reforms, teacher learning, lesson study, collaborative learning and listening pedagogy.