Participatory pedagogical methodologies and approaches

Participation of learners as a right

The demands for wider participation in school governance (and learning) aligns with the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNICEF, 1990). It emphasises the importance of supporting processes that allow children and young people to develop and freely express their opinions (Articles 12-15) and create spaces for their participation in decisions that affect them (Articles 12, 23, 31). This approach to participation is a right, the mission of schools in promoting it is stated by pedagogues (Dewey, Freire) and EU policy documents such as the European Education Area plan and the Key competences for lifelong learning.

Lundy’s Student Voice model

The Lundy model of participation outlines four key elements in a logical sequence: Space, Voice, Audience, and Influence.

• Space
  The model begins by emphasising the creation of a safe and inclusive space for the learners to share their feelings, express their opinions, and make proposals. Stakeholders are encouraged to involve learners by ensuring accessibility, and providing support for those who may feel anxious.
• Voice
  Once the space is established, the model focuses on empowering people to use their voice. It needs to establish clear topics and make use of age-appropriate information.
• Audience
  People’s voices need to be genuinely listened to and their opinions and decisions taken seriously. The audience needs to be ready to acknowledge what is being said and be ready to move things forward.
• Influence
  Finally, the learner’s input must have real measurable influence with inclusive and transparent feedback. It must also have evaluation mechanisms in place.

Shared decision-making and sociocracy

Shared decision-making and sociocracy are central to the promotion of youth participation, and fostering a culture of collaboration and inclusivity.

In these settings, shared decision-making allows young people, students, teachers and youth workers to have an equal say in the decisions that affect their learning environment. This not only empowers all members of the school community or youth organisation but also teaches valuable life skills such as active listening, non-violent communication, negotiation, critical thinking, and collective responsibility.

Similarly, Sociocracy, a method of governance based on consent and circle structures, complements this approach by ensuring that every voice is heard and valued. Within this system, decisions are made through rounds of discussion where objections are welcomed as opportunities for improvement. This creates a dynamic and adaptive environment, where decisions are continuously refined and aligned with the community’s values and needs.

Educational commons

Commons is the social practice of co-creating and co-managing a resource, from our grandfathers’ communal grazing fields to today’s digital commons, like Wikipedia. Educational commons are about sharing space for collaboration, content creation, socialisation, governance, playing and learning among educators and learners. Dellenbaugh (2015) explains that ‘commoning’ involves three key elements: a resource, a community, and mechanisms. Simply put, a community (whether local, digital or both) gathers around a shared resource and establishes rules and structures to create shared values. For Hopkins (2012), ‘commons’ must meet three criteria: sustainable use, fair access, and collective control; whereas Elinor Ostrom (1990) outlines eight conditions for successful ‘commons’: clear boundaries, locally appropriate rules, participatory decision-making, effective monitoring, fair sanctions, accessible conflict resolution, the right to self-organise, and integration within larger networks.