HE Education Minister at the recent launch of the next phase of Scotland’s national teacher recruitment drive once more made reference to the “Great Debate” he wishes to take place on the future of Scottish education. Jack McConnell wants it to be based on the published national priorities and has said, on previous occasions, that it will be wide-ranging and inclusive. It might be opportune, therefore, to ask whether the views of pupils, past and present, are likely to be heard.

Historically, Andrew McPherson’s Tell Them From Me (1980) was and remains a powerful insight into how perceptive the views of young people can be. It was written just as Standard grade was being introduced and reflected the views of young people who were designated “academic” and “certificate” or “non-academic” and “non-certificate”. The views of the former were largely positive about their school experience, while the latter told a sorry tale of unequal treatment, of being given - as they saw it - the worst teachers, and of discrimination in a variety of forms.

Since then, the data from the young leavers’ survey has shown that things have improved steadily, with a “satisfaction rate” of more than 90 per cent. Three-quarters of those who leave school at the earliest opportunity stated that they liked school and felt that teachers did their best for them.

Perhaps we should ask whether at the present time pupils’ voices are heard within schools themselves. Undoubtedly, there has been progress. Circle time is widely used within the primary sector. Clackmannanshire has led the way in implementing a variant of Matthew Lipman’s “community of enquiry” in all of its primary schools, and at least one Stirling primary has involved pupils in drawing up the “person spec” for a teacher vacancy. In the secondary sector, there are numerous examples of highly effective pupil councils, of the involvement of senior pupils in running study support programmes for younger pupils and of senior pupils serving on school boards.

However, recent research suggests that there is little enthusiasm among teachers for a greater involvement of pupils in decision-making processes such as school development planning. In 1996, in a sample of 36 secondary schools, the Improving School Effectiveness Project found that only 3 per cent of staff strongly agreed that “pupils have some say in the school development plan” (1996). More recently, my colleague Paul Hamill and I found that staff in two out of three infant schools in one council area strongly claimed that pupils’ voices were listened to; three out of eight primary staff agreed and only one out of four secondary staff agreed.

If we take a “rights” perspective, it is easy to make the case that we should be listening to pupils’ voices. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Children (Scotland) Act (1995) and the Standards in Scotland’s Schools Act (2000) all enshrine the rights of young people to have their views heard. It is difficult to say how far schools have moved to ensure that pupils have genuine forums for discussion and can make an input into decision-making since the most recent legislation. And even where schools were well ahead of the legislation, it is worth asking to what extent are mechanisms such as “circle time”, “focus groups” and student representation on school boards or on council consultation groups likely to give pupils a genuine voice?

Jean Rudduck (1996) has acknowledged that there are obvious problems in “legitimising the contribution of the pupil voice in schools’ own improvement practices”. She cites concerns about the “personalised nature of the comments” and suggests that “policy-makers may not credit pupils with the capacity to make constructive judgments”. However, drawing on research which involved interviews with more than 900 pupils, she concludes that “young people are observant, are often capable of analytic and constructive comment and usually respond well to the responsibility . . . of helping to identify aspects of schooling that get in the way of their learning”.

erhaps listening to pupils’ voices is one area where the expertise of researchers and teachers can be of benefit to each other. Paul Cooper and Donald Mclntyre (1996) have drawn on the work of Carl Rogers to produce a set of principles for seeking the views of young people. However, Cooper and Mclntyre also argue that if we want to have a true picture of how schools are working, then we have to listen to all of the “stakeholders”, including the staff and the parents. It is only then that a rounded picture of the school process emerges and people begin to feel that their views are respected.

Perhaps the challenge for any school is to listen to pupils’ voices on issues which really matter. It is one thing to consult them on the date of the next disco, or on the litter problem in the playground, or even on the siting of lockers. It is another to consult them on school closures and mergers, policies on setting and mixed-ability, the discipline code, the impact of inclusion strategies and even what makes a good teacher. There are further challenges such as finding ways of seeking the views of pre-school children and those with special educational needs to find out how they perceive the process of schooling. It can be, and has been, done, but are we always convinced that it is worth doing?

Perhaps, the last word should go to my permanently accessible sample of one, now in S4. When asked, why don’t you want to be a teacher when you grow up, he replied: “It’s too hard to be a good teacher.”

I rest my case.

Brian Boyd is associate director at Strathclyde University.