Student voice as risky praxis: democratising physical education teacher education

Background: Student voice agendas have been slow to permeate higher educational institutions. Curricula in universities, like those in primary and secondary education, are still usually made for students by teachers who, while they may have the best interests of the students in mind, rarely if ever engage students in curriculum decision-making. The need for more equitable, dialogic and democratic engagement by students is particularly relevant in the context of teacher education. It has been argued that pre-service teachers should experience democratic practices during their teacher education experiences in order to have the confidence, knowledge and skills to support democratic opportunities in schools.

Student voice and teacher accountability: possibilities and problematics

The focus in this paper is on a student voice initiative at an English secondary school designed to improve the quality of teaching and learning. The initiative invites Year 8 students to train and work as ‘lesson observers’ who provide feedback to teachers about their practice. The possibilities of this initiative to reflect a rich and intelligent form of teacher accountability are explored in relation to its capacity to (1) enhance students’ understanding and appreciation of teachers, teaching and the learning process; (2) support students to work in partnership with teachers to improve pedagogy and relationships; and (3) develop students’ positive self-image as learners. In its exploration of this initiative the paper also considers matters of authenticity, inclusion and power and highlights ways in which student voice initiatives can be undermined when these matters are not adequately engaged with. Such engagement, it is argued, is imperative in guarding against a misappropriation or undermining of student voice to align with traditional teacher–student power relations or to fit with the dictates of school improvement as framed by narrow and reductive measures.

Giving Muslim girls ‘a voice’: the possibilities and limits to challenging patriarchal interpretations of Islam in one English community

This paper presents the philosophies and practices of ‘Laura’, a young English community liaison worker and former religious studies teacher who has recently converted to Islam. Drawing on data generated from a qualitative and predominantly interview‐based research project that investigated issues of pedagogy and social justice in English schools, the focus is on Laura’s efforts to support Muslim girls through an Islamic discussion group. The paper highlights how Laura draws on Islamic beliefs to support the girls’ questioning of patriarchal interpretations of Islam within their Pakistani immigrant community. The paper also provides insight, however, into some of the tensions and limitations of Laura’s liberatory approach in terms of her positioning as white, western, and middle‐class. Against this backdrop, a self‐reflexive approach that is sensitive to how ‘ethnic‐specific sociability’ shapes understandings and enactments of gender is advocated. Such an approach is presented as central in considering how spaces of gender justice might be mobilised within community environments where unprecedented levels of multi‐cultural fragmentation and diversity have amplified tensions and conflict between and amongst racial and religious groups.