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Prioritizing Student Voice in Education System Decision Making and Transformation: Findings and Recommendations from Intergenerational Research. Policy Brief

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Title: Prioritizing Student Voice in Education System Decision Making and Transformation: Findings and Recommendations from Intergenerational Research. Policy Brief
Language: English
Authors: Richaa Hoysala, Emily Morris, Omaer Naeem, Contributor, Brookings Institution, Center for Universal Education
Source: Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution. 2025.
Availability: Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution. 1775 Massachusettes Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-797-6048; Fax: 202-797-2970; e-mail: cue@brookings.edu; Web site: http://www.brookings.edu/about/centers/universal-education
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 33
Publication Date: 2025
Sponsoring Agency: LEGO Foundation
Intended Audience: Policymakers; Administrators
Document Type: Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Student Participation, Participative Decision Making, Power Structure, School Councils, Student School Relationship, Administration, Educational Policy, Policy Formation, Intergenerational Programs, Youth
Abstract: Young people have the most to gain or lose from education system decision making and transformation. Around the world, students are rarely intentionally and meaningfully involved in the development and implementation of educational policies, school planning, and vision setting. Students are occasionally consulted during policy development, but they are rarely positioned as equal members on intergenerational leadership bodies, and few countries have national student councils. Student councils are more common at a school or education institution level, and even when countries have mandated schools to have student councils to harness the leadership of young people, these councils only weigh in on low-stakes decisions--such as organizing events--and not more high-stakes decision making like school-wide change and transformation. The Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution has been collaborating with students, families, and educators around the world to understand how to build student consultation and intergenerational partnerships into decision making, and how to ensure education systems better serve students' learning, development, and well-being. As part of ongoing work on youth agency in and through education, this policy brief makes a case for why student engagement is critical to policy and decision making in education systems and institutions. Three key findings were developed through the analysis of the policies on student voice in policy development and school governance in 10 countries, as well as mixed-methods research directly with students, their parents/ caregivers, and their educators. The audience for this policy brief is policymakers and education leaders across different levels--national, subnational, and school--who oversee student engagement in decision making. Another critical audience is civil society organizations that work in collaboration with schools and student and parent/ caregiver councils. This policy brief starts with the conceptual framework for centering student voice in policy development and intergenerational research, followed by the research methodology and context, and concludes with recommendations.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED678563
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Prioritizing Student Voice in Education System Decision Making and Transformation: Findings and Recommendations from Intergenerational Research. Policy Brief
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Richaa+Hoysala%22">Richaa Hoysala</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Emily+Morris%22">Emily Morris</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Omaer+Naeem%2C+Contributor%22">Omaer Naeem, Contributor</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Brookings+Institution%2C+Center+for+Universal+Education%22">Brookings Institution, Center for Universal Education</searchLink>
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  Data: Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution. 1775 Massachusettes Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-797-6048; Fax: 202-797-2970; e-mail: cue@brookings.edu; Web site: http://www.brookings.edu/about/centers/universal-education
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  Data: Policymakers; Administrators
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Participation%22">Student Participation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Participative+Decision+Making%22">Participative Decision Making</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Power+Structure%22">Power Structure</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Councils%22">School Councils</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+School+Relationship%22">Student School Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Administration%22">Administration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Policy%22">Educational Policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Policy+Formation%22">Policy Formation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intergenerational+Programs%22">Intergenerational Programs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Youth%22">Youth</searchLink>
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  Data: Young people have the most to gain or lose from education system decision making and transformation. Around the world, students are rarely intentionally and meaningfully involved in the development and implementation of educational policies, school planning, and vision setting. Students are occasionally consulted during policy development, but they are rarely positioned as equal members on intergenerational leadership bodies, and few countries have national student councils. Student councils are more common at a school or education institution level, and even when countries have mandated schools to have student councils to harness the leadership of young people, these councils only weigh in on low-stakes decisions--such as organizing events--and not more high-stakes decision making like school-wide change and transformation. The Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution has been collaborating with students, families, and educators around the world to understand how to build student consultation and intergenerational partnerships into decision making, and how to ensure education systems better serve students' learning, development, and well-being. As part of ongoing work on youth agency in and through education, this policy brief makes a case for why student engagement is critical to policy and decision making in education systems and institutions. Three key findings were developed through the analysis of the policies on student voice in policy development and school governance in 10 countries, as well as mixed-methods research directly with students, their parents/ caregivers, and their educators. The audience for this policy brief is policymakers and education leaders across different levels--national, subnational, and school--who oversee student engagement in decision making. Another critical audience is civil society organizations that work in collaboration with schools and student and parent/ caregiver councils. This policy brief starts with the conceptual framework for centering student voice in policy development and intergenerational research, followed by the research methodology and context, and concludes with recommendations.
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      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Participation
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      – SubjectFull: Participative Decision Making
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      – SubjectFull: Power Structure
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      – SubjectFull: School Councils
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      – SubjectFull: Student School Relationship
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      – SubjectFull: Administration
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      – SubjectFull: Educational Policy
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      – SubjectFull: Policy Formation
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      – SubjectFull: Intergenerational Programs
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      – SubjectFull: Youth
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      – TitleFull: Prioritizing Student Voice in Education System Decision Making and Transformation: Findings and Recommendations from Intergenerational Research. Policy Brief
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