Many of the schools I have visited or worked in have made notable strides to increase student agency, empowering students to take greater ownership of their learning and engage in the type of school they want to be part of, or the education they wish to receive.

Yet, as I speak with students about their education, they can be cynical about the agency that they have and how schools respond to their voice. Often, I hear that school leaders do not listen, or that students want to start a particular initiative, but the school is not willing to accommodate it. Frustratingly, some students say that they are coming up with solutions to improve their schools or learning but they are not being acted upon.

Here are three approaches to developing student agency with responsibility:

1. Define and explain the boundaries

When school leaders and teachers communicate to students that they have a choice or are encouraged to have a voice, it is essential that a ‘sky’s the limit’ approach is avoided where possible. First and foremost, we want our students to be successful when adopting choice and voice, so that they build confidence and maintain engagement. When we ask students for solutions without limits or give choices that we cannot reasonably provide for, it is inevitable that students will be easily disheartened. It is far better to explain to students what the boundaries are and then support students to work within them. The explanation is crucial here because we, as school leaders have our ceiling too whether that is time, money or other resources. A healthy dose of pragmatism can go a long way in developing student agency.

2. Place the onus on the students and let them do the work

How many student-led projects or initiatives fall apart because their responsibilities were either not clearly defined or teachers and school leaders picked up the pieces? I recall observing an environmental sustainability event in school that had all these ideas from students yet when it came to getting it done, most of the students were not prepared to volunteer their time. Consequently, teachers picked up the slack, so that project did not fall apart. Student agency is not dependent on teachers doing the work for the students. At a minimum, it is a 50-50 partnership and, at its’ best, the work is done 80-90% by the students with teachers and school leaders expertly facilitating. This is where the real learning occurs, when student care enough to devote their time and energy to realize something and truly understand what is needed to make it happen. If a project or event falls apart because students did not commit, then it be. Resist the urge clean it up for them.

3. Give students feedback on where there voice has been important

A number of schools use school climate surveys as a way of encouraging student voice. Students are often asked to provide ideas to solve a problem or give their perception on what our schools can do to improve.

In some instances, students will make suggestions for what teachers and school leaders can do to improve that does not require students to do the work. While teachers and school leaders may not be able to implement all of these suggestions, it is important for students to hear what suggestions were discussed and implemented.

If students understand that some of what they suggest has been enacted, then they are more likely to continue to share their thoughts constructively in the future. Perhaps, it would be beneficial for school leaders to share survey results with their community and before giving the next survey, leaders provide feedback on how the previous survey was responded to. If we are asking students to give thoughtful consideration to completing our surveys, then we also have a responsibility to discuss the responses with them.

Successful student agency understands responsibility

Above all, the development of student agency must involve careful planning whereby the responsibilities for the student, teachers and school leaders are clearly understood if this agency is going to be beneficial for students and our schools.