ERIC Number: ED260956
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1985-Feb
Pages: 13
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Children's Participation at Junior Level.
Marklund, Inger, Ed.; Otter, Annica, Ed.
School Research Newsletter, v2 Feb 1985
This study examined the attitudes of Swedish junior high students concerning student participation in deciding matters that affect them. Over 100 students and their teachers were interviewed, class committees and school meetings were observed, and the students completed a short questionnaire. To illustrate the pitfalls that a study of pupils' joint influence or co-determination can entail, Arnstein's chart, "Eight Rungs on a Ladder of Citizen Participation," which is frequently referred to in evaluations of citizen participation in planning processes, is discussed. The eight rungs are: manipulation, therapy, informing, consultation, placation, partnership, delegated power, and citizen control. Study findings show that when asked about the influence exerted by children on their situation at a school, the great majority (70 percent) felt that they were able to decide just about the right amount. Nearly three-quarters of the pupils said that they did not know how much children were capable of deciding. Concerning pupils' desire for decision-making powers at school, 83 percent felt that things were just right as they were. (RM)
Descriptors: Citizen Participation, Comparative Education, Decision Making, Educational Research, Foreign Countries, Junior High Schools, Participative Decision Making, Student Attitudes, Student Behavior, Student Participation, Student Responsibility, Student Rights, Student School Relationship
Skoloverstyrelsen, National Board of Education, Information and Documentation Section, S-106 42 Stockholm, Sweden (free).
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: National Swedish Board of Education, Stockholm.
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A