Voice-Inclusive Practice (vip): A Charter for Authentic Student Engagement

Abstract

In an age of high stakes testing, diversified communication, educational transformation and pedagogical evolution, the child’s contribution to education remains underutilised. Despite the emphasis on children’s active and authentic involvement in educational decision making in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (uncrc), educational reform continues to ignore the child’s view. In contexts where the child’s voice is welcomed, there remains little guidance for education professionals on how to seek and incorporate children’s perspectives in a practically focused way. By initiating Voice-Inclusive Practice (vip), educators will be better positioned to take action that supports the imperatives of educational change. Voice-Inclusive Practice is represented by processes that actively engage with children on matters that affect them and includes the child’s perspective in planning, decision making and pedagogy. This paper provides an elaboration of the vip principles that enable the participatory rights of the child in education settings.