Pupil's role in educational design: Exploring what it means to have a say in primary school

Abstract

This case study aims to explore the role of pupils in educational design and what it means to have a say in primary school. Although many educational offers use the slogan ‘pupil-centred’ approach, examples are scarce in which children are seen as partners, let alone co-designers. It is therefore important to investigate to what extent pupils are involved in the design process and decision-making in a primary school context. Concepts such as co-determination, participation, room for choice and competence were discussed. This small-scale study shows that the school policy regarding participation and co-design mainly concerns parents but not pupils as much. Teachers have different perspectives about the importance of children's participation. In general, they would like to involve the pupils more in the design process. The lack of time and educational inspection's demand for standardised outcomes are limiting factors. The pupils believe that they sometimes influence how lessons are conducted at school and are allowed to choose how they work on the subject. In general, they feel positive about their competence.