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Simply calling something “meaningful” doesn’t make it so. When a lot of people think about students' participation in community organizations and schools, "meaningful" isn't the first word that comes to mind. But saying that young people are complex is an understatement; saying that schools need to be responsive to their complexity seems overtly simplistic. What is an appropriate way to measure the "meaningfulness" of student involvement in our communities, school, and organizations, without belittling young people as simpletons or romanticizing them as saviours?
The following tool may be the answer. This tool is called the Ladder of Student Involvement in Schools, and it is a typology that explores a variety of ways students are involved in schools. Educators and students can use this tool to measure the everyday involvement of students in schools by identifying how schools currently engage students in their classes, programs, and other leadership opportunities. The Ladder can also encourage individuals and schools to aspire to higher levels by presenting the possibilities of meaningful student involvement.
The Ladder of Student Involvement in School was adapted from the work of Roger Hart, an international expert on children’s participation. By mapping situations and activities that involve students on the rungs of the Ladder, schools can assess their levels of meaningful student involvement; the higher the rung on the Ladder, the greater the meaningfulness of student involvement. This guide seeks to help schools reach higher rungs – that is, increase the amount and improve the quality of student participation in schools. Note that the rungs on this Ladder aren’t necessarily a developmental process that happens over finite increments. Student involvement can go from the second rung directly to the sixth. The Ladder is meant to represent possibilities, not predictions, for growth.
The degrees of participation include (8 being the highest):
8) Student-initiated, shared decisions with teachers – Projects, classes, or activities are initiated by students, and decision-making is shared among students and adults. These projects empower students while at the same time enabling them to access and learn from the life experience and expertise of adults.
7) Student-initiated and directed – Students initiate and direct a project, class, or activity. Adults are involved only in a supportive role.
6) Adult-initiated, shared decisions with students – Projects, classes, or activities are initiated by adults, but the decision-making is shared with students involved.
5) Consulted and informed – Students give advice on projects, classes, or activities designed and run by adults. The students are informed about how their input will be used and the outcomes of the decisions made by adults.
4) Assigned but taught – Students are assigned a specific role, told about how, and taught why they are being involved.
The degrees of non-participation include (1 being the lowest):
3) Tokenism: Students appear to be given a voice, but in fact have little or no choice about what they do or how they participate.
2) Decoration: Students are used to help or bolster a cause in a relatively indirect way; adults do not pretend that the cause is inspired by students. Causes are determined by adults, and adults make all decisions.
1) Manipulation: Adults use students to support causes by pretending that those causes are inspired by students.
Students and educators can use the Ladder in a variety of ways to measure their classrooms, schools, and communities. Beyond this tool, there is a need to imagine what steps are necessary for students to progress beyond measurement and into action. That is another role for students, working with educators, waiting to being created. What are you going to do now?
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Adam Fletcher
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