‘You know, nothing changes’. Students’ experiences in influencing pedagogic practices in various upper secondary schools in Iceland^*

* This article is based on data from the study Upper Secondary School Practices in Iceland: Student Engagement and Initiative.

ABSTRACT

In light of the emphasis on student influence in the current educational landscape in Iceland and internationally, this article explores how students experience their opportunities to exert influence over their everyday schooling. Thus, the paper contributes to an understanding of what an emphasis on student influence entails for students and pedagogic practices. Group interviews were conducted with students from nine upper secondary schools in Iceland, and an analysis that draws on Basil Bernstein’s theory of pedagogic discourse, was performed. The findings imply that while students generally expect and accept a non-influential role within pedagogic practices, many of them describe inconsistent opportunities to exert influence, represented through a divide between different academic programmes. However, in one of the sample schools, student influence seemed to be embedded into the school’s regulative discourse. The findings suggest that inconsistent opportunities to influence persist and that traditional power structures are maintained.

KEYWORDS:

• Student influence
• democratic education
• pedagogic discourse
• student voice
• upper secondary education

Notes

* This article is based on data from the study Upper Secondary School Practices in Iceland: Student Engagement and Initiative.