Having a say
The participation of children and young people in adult decision-making has
shot up the policy agenda in recent years. The UN Convention on
the Rights of Child, which the Scottish Government is committed
to implementing, includes rights of participation. In Scotland, it
has become common for children and young people to be consulted on policies
and services affecting them. Increasingly, this is reflected in legislation.
Having a say at school
In 2000, Scotland led the UK in enshrining children's and young people's rights
to participate within education law. The Standards in Scotland’s Schools
etc. Act 2000 requires education authorities to have regard to a pupil’s
views in decisions that significantly affect that pupil in relation to his
or her school education. The participation of young people in decision-making,
at both classroom and whole school level, is now seen as an essential element
in citizenship education. It is a key part of Education for Citizenship
in Scotland, the Scottish national framework for education for citizenship
for young people aged 3-18.
During our research, we discovered that around 90% of Scotland's primary and secondary schools have some kind of pupil council - and that most of these have been created since 2000.
Pupil councils
More and more schools operate pupil councils as their main way of involving students in decision-making and promoting citizenship. Some people view them very positively as important 'laboratories of democracy'; others dismiss them as 'token', 'do nothing' bodies for an elite group of young people; and many don't have a strong opinion or seem to know much about them.
Children in Scotland, the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Research on Families and Relationships and the BIG Lottery Research Fund wanted to shed light on what is true and what seems to be working among pupil councils across Scotland. Our hope is that sharing what we have learned will lead to more pupil councils doing meaningful work that benefits these young people and their school communities.
Principal Investigators
Children in Scotland: Dr Jonathan Sher and Dr Fungisai Gwanzura-Ottemoller
University of Edinburgh: Dr Kay Tisdall and Dr Sue Milne (Centre for Research on Families and Relationships)
