Whose Empowerment? The Dynamics of Power and Choice in Managing Student Access to Personalised Key Stage 4 Options

Abstract

Within a framework of the roles of ‘empowerment’ and ‘personalisation’ in facilitating neo-liberal policy reform, this article analyses 14-year-old students' decision-making about their subject choices at the end of Key Stage 3 in secondary education in the United Kingdom. Evidence from research carried out in an 11–16 comprehensive school on both pastoral staff and students' viewpoints is analysed using contemporary interpretations of empowerment theory. This analysis reveals the dynamics and limitations of student and teacher empowerment in negotiating the management of this process and the differing outcomes of student voice strategies.