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Background. Students' perspective on education is of crucial importance for its effectivity, but students' opinions are seldom acknowledged by teachers and designers. Student participation in the educational design process could be a suitable tool to better take students' preferences into account. However, for effective participatory design, it is necessary to know whether students have stable preferences for the design of their education. Changeability of preferences would require a more continuing design process allowing continuous adaptations. Aims. This longitudinal survey study aimed to determine the changeability over time of students' preferences for different aspects of a learning environment. Additionally, causes of possible changes in preferences are investigated. Sample. The participants were 1,335 high school students of five schools for secondary education in the Netherlands, joining this study during a period of 2 years. Method. Data about students' preferences were collected at three moments, using the Inventory of Perceived Study Environment Extended. Learning-related student characteristics, such as processing strategies and motivational orientations, were measured with the Inventory of Learning Styles. Additionally, data on learning performances were collected. Results. The results showed stability on preferences for almost all studied characteristics of the learning environment. Particularly remarkable was a drop in desirability for student autonomy. This was larger for students with a certificate-oriented motivation and smaller for self-regulated students. Additionally, poorly performing students had a larger decrease in preference for autonomy. Conclusions. The stability on most aspects supports that participatory design might result in fairly stable instructional designs, although caution is needed with respect to student autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the complex constellation of conditions that turn many young people into ‘exiles’ from schooling. From the vantage point of young people, the paper traces out a profile of the conditions that need to be brought into existence for these young people to find a way back into learning. The paper argues that current educational policies are deeply hostile to young people in the ways they position them as ‘silent witnesses’ and exclude them from having a voice in the important decisions about what they learn, how, with whom, and with what effects. In contrast, the paper explores six alternative programmes in Australia, warehoused from within the same systems that ‘damaged’ these young people. Paradoxically these programmes are seen as providing these damaged young people with the spaces in which they can become powerful ‘active agents’ in re-forming an educational identity for themselves. Where these alternatives depart from the damaging policy regime is in the highly context-sensitive way they enable young learners and local policy advocates who work with them, to effectively contest exclusionary and undemocratic neoliberal policies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article the authors argue for the use of critical dialogue between teachers and students in literacy classrooms, or those focused on reading and writing instruction. The present their definition of a dialogical classroom, explore the benefits of involving students in forming mission statements for schools, and examine how communication between teachers and students aids those students in forming their identities as learners and readers.

The article focuses on the innovations in legal education which provides an opportunity to introduce new concepts about modern law schools despite the physical and subjective constraints in Australia. It presents information on several constraints that abate the implementation of legal educational reforms including the danger of futility, expediency and timidity. It discusses how sustainability of change in legal education can be achieved over time. It also provides information on a student-staff collaboration program to design and implement an informal mentoring program called as "Law Peer Assisted Learning" (LAW-PAL) at the Macquarie University in Sydney, New South Wales.

Abstract: This article reviews empirical research on the effects of student participation in school decision-making processes. Out of 3102 searched citations, a total of 32 publications met the inclusion criteria. The qualitative analyses employed in this review yielded a typology of student participation, a categorisation of the diverse effects of student participation and an overview of the quality and quantity of related research (available evidence). We found moderate evidence of positive effects of student participation on life skills, self-esteem and social status, democratic skills and citizenship, student–adult relationships and school ethos. We found limited evidence of positive effects on academic achievement, facilities, rules or policies, and health; we also found low levels of evidence of negative effects. We did not find sufficient research on the positive effects of student participation on peer relationships or on effects on teachers. Different forms of student participation seem to have different effects, but first and foremost, this review indicates a need for more comprehensive high quality research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Existing literature supports the inclusion of students in education reform, documenting benefits for both students and educators. When student voice is not included in reform efforts, these efforts are more likely to flounder. The emerging educational reform of data-driven decision making (DDDM) offers promise for increasing student achievement. However, scant research documents the involvement of students in DDDM reforms. Using a theoretical framework that advocates for democratically involving students in education reform, this cross-case analysis examines the role of students in DDDM reforms in elementary and high schools known to be exemplars of data-driven decision making. Based on findings of efforts made by exemplar districts as well as actions they did not take to involve students, the authors conclude that a new typology is necessary for assessing student involvement in DDDM. Consequently, the authors propose a new three-tiered typology for conceptualizing this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports on the assessment of initial data from an ongoing, award-winning service learning project called "Computer Training for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities." The project was researched, designed, and implemented by Masters in Library Science (MLIS) students at a large southeastern university. The two explicit goals of the project were to assess the effectiveness of the core curriculum in preparing students to undertake such a project and to provide technology literacy to clients with intellectual disabilities. However, the three implicit goals were to benefit the students, the clients, and the community partner through the process of engagement. The data reported are based on the first eighteen months of the project and are gathered from an exercise mapping the students' perceptions of the usefulness of the core curriculum, their written reflections concerning their participation in the project, and their records concerning client progress through the instruction. The student data are corroborated through an interview session with the community partner. The methods and results reflect a qualitative text analysis protocol since the first phase of the project was exploratory and the population was limited. Quantitative data reflect only simple descriptive statistics due to sample size and lack of comparative data. Results indicate that the goals of the original project are being met, and other corollary effects, such as students' attitudes concerning underrepresented populations were offected positively and constructively We also identify necessary revisions and challenges as the project progresses, and numerous avenues for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In early 2010, amidst a series of racially charged incidents on campus, the student government president at the University of California at San Diego revoked funding to all student media organizations in response to controvesial speech on the student-run television station. It is well established that once the government has opened a forum, including a "metaphysical" forum constituted by government funding for private speech, it may not discriminate based on the viewpoints expressed within that forum. However, it has not been clearly established whether the government may close such a forum for a viewpoint-discriminatory purpose. This Note argues that courts should hold viewpoint-discriminatory closures unconstitutional because: (1) government action motivated by the desire to silence a particular viewpoint is inconsistent with core principles underlying the First Amendment, and (2) even facially neutral actions motivated by illicit purposes tend to have unconstitutional discriminatory effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to lay out some critical implications for young people's participation – relevant across political and national boundaries – drawing on the former UK government's Building Schools for the Future programme (BSF) to (re)build all secondary schools in England and Wales through a strategic consultation and engagement approach. In exploring relevant BSF documents and wider policies, the rhetoric for inclusion and diversity in young people's involvement emerges strongly. By juxtaposing this with participants' perceptions of their experiences involvement however, it is argued that uneven distribution of decision making power impinges on the development of an inclusive and meaningful context for young people's participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research article explores the active use of cognitive-developmental or mediated cognitive learning strategies in undergraduate online courses. Examples and applications are drawn from two online sessions integrating online interaction, essay and discussion assignments, as well as a variety of multimedia components conducted during the spring of 2008. While focus on the interaction among students remains an important aspect of the online discussion environment, particular attention is given to the interaction between the student and the instructor. This paper argues that while online learning environments are ultimately student-controlled, they should be teacher-centered. The findings of this research suggest that students are more directly influenced by an instructor's intentional effort to mediate the learning process than by the course objectives, material, or subject matter. Successful use of online technologies requires deliberate action on the part of the instructor to integrate various mediated cognitive learning strategies: (a) student participation and response is significantly increased, and (b) student motivation and morale is dramatically influenced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweden has a high level of student influence. At Lund University, students are not viewed as counterparts but partners in the university's activities. Lund University has carried out Student Satisfaction Surveys (baromoters) since the 1990s and an overview has shown that an evaluation culture has grown during the past decade. It is, however, time to pose the critical question: do we ask the right questions? It is important that course evaluations and the institution-wide barometers complement each other without too much overlap. This article proposes a different way to carry through a barometer, where students' experience mirrors the responses of alumni. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the contrasting views of what constitutes the ‘best interests’ of students and the implications of such perceptions for leadership practices in secondary schools in Kenya. The paper is based on a study conducted to establish the students’, teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of democratic school leadership — in line with the current policy requirement of the Kenyan government that students be involved in decision-making on some of the issues in school that directly affect them. The study was in two phases. The first phase included interviews with twelve school principals to explore their perspectives on democratic school leadership and provide a rationale for selecting the two case schools. The second phase was a case study of two schools. The findings suggest that the leadership practices perceived by most principals and teachers to be in the ‘best interests’ of students were contentious and in direct contrast to what the students considered to be in their best interests. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Youth participation in school governance is on the rise with increased opportunities for student involvement. The objective of this mixed method study was to provide the first analysis of the student trustee role, a relatively new form of participation where high school students represent their peers on local school boards. Specifically, the aim was to gain an understanding of the meaning of student trustee participation from the perspectives of those in the role. Data collection included qualitative interviews with 16 participants, field observations, and questionnaires administered to 39 student trustees. This article focuses primarily on 2 main themes related to developmental processes and outcomes associated with youth participation. One theme identifies possible factors that may elicit or support youth participation while a second theme examines identity formation and transformative learning. Theories derived from human development and adult education comprise the conceptual framework that illuminates the meaning of student trustee participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public policy of numerous nations, including Australia, articulates a clear expectation that schools will develop young people's capacities to participate in civic society and its democratic structures and processes. A romantic policy rhetoric hides a reality that is both more complex and less well understood than is typically acknowledged. Young people's democratic participation is subject to varying interpretations and implementation, and is employed to serve varying agendas. The role of schools in developing this participation is particularly subject to tensions and contradictions that can work to undermine and constrain the participation of marginalised young people. There is an abundance of research and policy literature on this topic. Yet, within this plethora of prescription and commentary, the key threads that might make a difference are not always clear. Moreover, there is little in this supposedly inclusive agenda that considers its implications for marginalised groups. This article provides a meta-analysis of the current policy and research landscape, examining the dominant discourses and their implications for young people's participation. It focuses particular attention on the position of marginalised young people as it emerges from the literature and outlines an alternative agenda with the potential to challenge an overly complacent policy and practice context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of the Study: The aim of this study is to find out the effectiveness of Balikesir University Student Council in the students' views. Method: For this reason the regulation prepared by Turkish Interuniversity Council for Students Councils of universities and Balikesir University Student Council Instructions were examined and a data collection tool was improved, one consisting of 34 items, 12 of which were from personal information and 22 from questionnaire statements of Likert type 6 valued scores. The first implementation results of the questionnaires were analyzed with SPSS program. The reliability value was found R=.961 and the variance value with single factor was =63.076. The questionnaires were applied to 682 students from 4 faculties, 2 Applied Schools and a Vocational School at Balikesir University. Findings and Results: According to findings from the questionnaires with SPSS, more than half of the students (52.6%) were found not to know anything about Student Council and those who reported that they know the Council said that they were informed by their friends. The students at Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences were found as the group with the highest rates about the Council. 63% of the students reported that they do not know the representative from their class at the council, 66.7% do not know the representative of their department, 70.2% do not know the representative of their Faculty/Vocational School and 86.1% even do not know the head of Student Council. Difference was found in Students' views at different faculties/schools. The students at Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences with the highest rate of information about Student Council believe that the council is quite effective. There is no significant difference in views according to gender. However, significant difference has been found in results of students according to the year they study. In general students have negative views about effectiveness of Student Council and the difference was found among stages of the negative views of them. In conclusion, Balikesir University Student Council is not effective according to the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting student involvement in planning has become best practice in the field of transition. Research documents the positive impact of such efforts on greater student involvement. Research also suggests that promoting student involvement results in greater student self-determination, but a causal link has not been established. This study used a randomized-trial, placebo control group design to study the impact of intervention with the Whose Future Is It Anyway? process on self-determination. The authors also examined the impact of intervention on transition knowledge and skills. Results indicated that instruction using the Whose Future Is It Anyway? process resulted in significant, positive differences in self-determination when compared with a placebo-control group and that students who received instruction gained transition knowledge and skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many questions have been raised about student voice as a channel for change. School Improvement — especially regarding information and communications technology (ICT) — is often driven by adult agendas, and even in the classroom students are least likely to be involved in bringing about change. This paper reports on a case of student action research at an independent secondary school in England. The student researchers analysed data they collected from students and teachers at their school, and from other international schools, about current ICT practices to develop policy statements on teaching and learning with ICT which they recommended to the school’s senior management team (SMT). Collaborating with these students was a consortium consisting of teachers and administrators at the school. Accounts of their data collection methods and their negotiations with adults on ‘improving ICT for the beneficiaries’ are presented as a model of student participation in school reform. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This response to "Buscando la Libertad: Latino Youths in Search of Freedom in School" by Jason G. Irizarry demonstrates how youth participatory action research (YPAR) as an instrument of subverting oppressive school policies and structures is a form of critical policy analysis (CPA). As an evolving method, CPA acknowledges the absent voices in policy, questions policy inequities, fosters empowerment, and influences policy. Youths who engage in YPAR, as demonstrated by Project FUERTE, have the courage to critique school policies that have the power to alter their educational trajectories, which offers more hope for change than scholarly elites who critique policies from the ivory tower. This response concludes with suggestions for educators. In order for sustainable changes in school policies and structures to occur, youths partaking in YPAR need collaborative support from principals and teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the authors' work on finding a more pragmatic approach to dealing with power, this commentary calls into question the possibility of a preestablished agenda by the researchers, who struggled to engage high school students. There might have been a case of overly ambitious expectations at work; also, the authors confess to being in the school only once a week and that their students were themselves struggling to find their place in a new charter school with an emphasis on social action. This response challenges the authors to reexamine their wish to engage students with institutional power by suggesting that they consider their own positions of power inside the school and classroom. Lastly, the response posits that rather than focusing on the limitations of service-learning and/or public achievement, which may make them appear as less desirable models for social action, we should consider such approaches as providing the very thing-small wins-the authors sought in and that educators should prepare their students for more substantial engagements with power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fehrman and Schutz contend that the fine balance between having students experience real-world obstacles to social change and having them learn how to navigate around those obstacles can be achieved by having adults both pre-select community action projects that are both possible and meaningful to ensure a modicum of success, and jump in and redirect wayward efforts when necessary to get them back on a trajectory aimed at a positive outcome. I agree. I also suggest that other factors are significant as well, namely the purposeful nurturing of a sense of community and hopefulness. Finally, I point out that adult intervention and democratic teaching are in no way mutually exclusive, especially by any standard John Dewey might have suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from a two-year ethnographic study of Latino high school students engaged in youth participatory action research (YPAR), this article describes students' quest for freedom in schools, locating their struggle within a larger effort to realize the democratic ideals of public schooling. Using Latino/a Critical Race Theory as a theoretical lens, the author demonstrates how popular discourse around the "achievement gap" often obscures the oppressive policies and practices implemented by educators that limit freedoms necessary for educational and personal development and profoundly influence the identities and life trajectories of Latino youth. The article concludes with an exploration of YPAR as a practice of educational freedom with the potential to transform the educational experiences and outcomes for Latino youth and other communities that have been traditionally underserved by schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines a two-year effort to engage groups of inner-city students in community engagement projects at Social Action Charter High School, SACHS, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In this project, graduate student volunteers coached small groups of students working on community change projects, collecting data on what happened over time. Kahne and Westheimer (2006) identified a key challenge to projects of this kind. On the one hand, social action projects seem able to enhance students' belief in their own capacity to solve community problems only if adult allies make sure the students do not encounter any significant barriers to success, although this misleads them, albeit unintentionally, about the realities of unequal power in society. On the other hand, authentic engagements with realworld institutional power tend to reduce students' confidence and their desire to participate in social action in the future. Thus the "catch-22" in our article's title. This article shows how one of the groups we worked with at SACH discovered a middle way between Kahne's and Westheimer's two extremes. Even though the students were not able to overcome the power they encountered, they nonetheless found creative and pragmatic ways to accomplish significant tasks. We argue that the students' experience shows a possible avenue for educators to move beyond the catch-22. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Astin's I-E-O model as a framework, this article explores the effects of a variety of factors on first-year persistence for conditionally-admitted students participating in a learning community at a public land-grant university. Since the learning community began in 2002, program administrators have collected survey, interview, and academic success indicators for participating students. In 2007, the program received grant funds to more carefully investigate factors that promote and inhibit persistence among students. For students matriculating in 2007, this study collected survey and entry characteristic data to probe predictive factors for persistence after the first year. These data allow us to better identify and understand dominant influences on student persistence as well as plan more informed interventions for students most at risk for departure. Key factors at our university that affected persistence of at-risk students included social integration, academic conscientiousness (most notably the use of self-regulatory learning strategies), and select pre-college characteristics including motivation and college preparatory curriculum. This article serves as a case study; after describing our local context, we present the inputs and environmental factors most predictive of persistence. We close by discussing the implications of this research for universities and colleges seeking to improve support for at-risk students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper questions current policy discourses that equate student success with hard outcomes like retention, completion and employment. It offers another view, one that uses 'soft' outcomes and student engagement literature to widen our understanding of student success. In the paper, we first draw on literature to explore student engagement, usually understood as a means to achieve success, and 'soft' outcomes as acceptable student outcomes, as success. We present possible indicators for these forms of success and a matrix of factors which influence such success. We then examine these ideas using data gathered from a project that investigated success as experienced by post-school foundation learners in Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The findings suggest that the ideas have value. Finally, we identify some implications for teachers, arguing that, contrary to some current views, all four quadrants in the matrix are the business of teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the research that examines the higher education reforms in China. The author states that several national level universities are selected in the study including Peking University (PKU), Nanjing University (NJU), and Xiamen University (XMU). She mentions that the study aims to know how faculty members and students participate in the decision-making processes at universities. She adds that the study involves focus group meetings with faculty members and students.

This article discusses how a newly established senior secondary school in Hong Kong tried to actively engage students in the school decision-making process. It first explains how democratisation could come about, the actual measures adopted, and the initial success achieved. Then the article proceeds to explain how challenges, such as conflicting interests of the students and tension between students and the administration, surfaced when the school became more established, grew in size, took in more students, moved into a bigger campus, and subsequently needed to face the public examinations. In conclusion, the article discusses changes in school governance that could be helpful in meeting the challenges. Institutionalising student participation, such as forming a student council, is discussed together with other useful changes. It is hoped that this article can be useful to people interested in the democratisation of school governance, and the impact on school democratisation of such factors as institutionalisation and increasing school size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student engagement has been characterized in literature by a myriad of meanings and a complicated set of research results that are difficult to compare because definitions are often re-configured from one study to the next. Though considered to be an important precursor to student learning and predictor of student achievement, few researchers have attempted to consolidate a reliable measure of student engagement. We approached the concept of engagement through the exclusive lens of the students and, consequently, consolidated a condensed form of the „Student Engagement Matrix‟ encompassing the most relevant engagement factors based on a sample of second year International Business Studies Students at different campuses of a university. The objective was to develop a relevant standardized matrix that could be used as a measure to identify the level of engagement across students with different demographic characteristics. Future research is required to validate the measure; once validated, the matrix could be used to benchmark achievement of unit outcomes amongst university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student learning and development are the core business of the academy, yet until recently Australian and New Zealand universities lacked data on students’ engagement in effective educational practices. This paper reports the foundations and development of the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE)—the largest educationally focused cross-institutional collection from current students in Australasia. Results from the 2008 AUSSE are analyzed to elucidate the focus and significance of the collection. A review is undertaken of the AUSSE’s approach to stimulating each institution’s continuous improvement. The analysis is expanded, by way of conclusion, to consider the role of the collection as a general agent for encouraging the expansion of evidence-based quality management in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Although it is a Joint Commission requirement for hospitals to maintain an up-to-date disaster plan and to implement drills, disaster training is not routinely incorporated into undergraduate medical education. Purposes: The objectives are to provide medical students with an introduction to disaster medicine, involving didactics and an experiential component where students participated in a disaster drill, and to evaluate the seminar's effectiveness through scored evaluations and a focus group discussion. Methods: A descriptive and qualitative analysis of a medical student disaster training course is presented. Results: The mean score for the four statements pertaining to the didactics was 4.3/5. Two themes from the focus group discussions emerged: (a) changes in self-perceived attitude toward disaster medicine and (b) changes in student's ability to apply this knowledge in a simulated setting. Conclusions: After the seminar, students appreciated the complexity of the field and the importance of incorporating disaster training into the general medical school curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Student selected components (SSCs) are staff-designed modules selected by students from a menu of options provided separately from the 'core' curriculum. Students completing these do not always learn what teachers think they teach. Some medical schools also allow students to design their own modules. It is not known whether greater student input into planning of modules is associated with closer alignment of planned and learnt outcomes. Aims: To compare student perception of learning outcomes addressed by student-designed ('self-proposed') SSCs, before and after completion, using the 'Dundee learning outcomes' template that we apply to all components of the undergraduate curriculum. Methods: Students were required at the time of self-proposal, and subsequently as part of feedback on completed modules, to indicate which of twelve learning outcomes they felt were addressed by their self-proposed SSC. The χ2 test was used to compare student perceptions of learning outcomes before and after completion. Results: More students thought that learning outcome 10 (appropriate decision making skills, clinical reasoning and judgement) was addressed after completion than before (96.3% versus 90.0%, χ2 4.99, p = 0.02); for all other learning outcomes global perceptions were not significantly different after completion. Individual changes in perception ranged from 2.1% for outcome 12 (aptitude for personal development) to 19.6% for outcome 2 (competent to perform practical procedures). Conclusion: Greater student input into planning of modules is associated with closer alignment of planned and learnt outcomes. Our findings provide further evidence for the benefit of student-directed learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that examines the types of frames occurring in student blogs profiled on admission department Websites. The study investigated student blogs used for recruitment purposed from 1, 734 school websites and used analysis of variance (ANOVA) to assess the relationship between blogger classification and the use of frames. The results of the study indicate that it is possible to present the college experience at an institution using student blogs, which provides opportunity for prospective students to test drive a school. The study concludes that recruitment blogs give universities and colleges the control on telling the story of their institution compared to non-institution blogs.

The purpose of this paper is to provide student affairs professionals with an overview of the law regarding the constitutionality of expenditure limits in student government elections. Unlike campaigns for federal and state office, it is clear that the limited case law on this topic does allow universities to limit the amount of money that student government candidates may spend on their campaigns. However, one of the reasons that universities sometimes set these restrictions is an attempt to create a level playing field for all candidates. This paper notes that this effort may be counter-productive by having the effect of assisting the establishment candidate, and thus urges university administrators to consider this possibility before imposing expenditure limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the benefits and challenges of involving peer researchers in social research projects. A research project on pupil participation in policy making on school bullying in Northern Ireland's schools was commissioned by the Office of the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People and undertaken by the National Children's Bureau in conjunction with researchers from Queen's University Belfast in fourteen schools across Northern Ireland, utilizing a mixed methods approach. We trained and employed nine 15-18-year-old peer researchers to support them in this project. After the project's completion, we conducted interviews with six of the peer researchers to investigate how they experienced their involvement in the research. We discuss the findings from these interviews and contextualize in a review of literature on research involving children and young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews scholarship that represents urban students who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. It draws on empirical examples to illustrate prominent themes across this scholarship, including the homophobia they experience, the impact it has on their academic performance, and the activism it sparks. Finally, it considers implications for urban educators working with queer youth, specifically, the need to understand and be prepared to address multiple social and cultural issues that intersect with sexual and gender identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational reformers often partner with others to make change happen in their schools. But few reformers look to students as agents of change. In this article, the authors discuss how students are an often under-utilized, and yet crucial, educational partner. They share their student voice work in the San Diego Unified School District's high school reform initiative. They specifically discuss what they call the student co-researcher project (SCR) to show how high school students can become active partners in educational reform. Also discussed is the potential impact SCR projects can have on schools by informing educators about students' perspectives and by creating opportunities for teachers and students to discuss problems and solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School (i.e., university) policies and practices are the living embodiment of a society's underlying values and educational philosophy… Schools can make a significant difference in the lives of students, and they are a key to maintaining a free and democratic society." (Banks, et.al., 2001). Furthermore, every member of the institution has the responsibility to contribute to creating and maintaining a caring environment for the future and current students. Accordingly, the university Registrar is one of the key individuals in promoting inclusion at a university: in terms of attracting a diverse group of students TO the university, monitoring their progress while in the university, and ensuring that they graduate from the university. But how does a university attract a diverse group of students into their programs? And then, once admitted, what are the administrative roles that a university registrar must play in order to ensure that students are successful in their programs and then graduate from the institution? These are challenges that every university Registrar must confront and surmount if they are promoting inclusionary practices. This presentation will focus on some of the ways that Queen's Education Registrar has addressed the challenge of inclusion in policies and procedures of the recruiting and admissions processes. I describe some of the ways that the Queen's Education Registrar has taken up the university mantra of "equity is everyone's business" through some of its strategies for outreach, recruiting, and admissions policies and practices. Banks, J.A., Cookson, P., Gay, G., Hawley, W.D., Irvine, J.J., Nieto, S., Schofield, J.W., & Stephan, W.G. (2001). Diversity within unity: Essential principles for teaching and learning in a multicultural society. Phi Delta Kappan, 83(3), 196-203. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]