New Directions in Student
Leadership
Staff
Training
Modules
Outcomes
On completion of all modules, participants will:
• Have an understanding of the ways in which effective
student leadership programs improve school life
• Understand DET directions and commitments to
student leadership
• Be aware of the roles and responsibilities of school
staff in promoting student leadership programs
• Have developed knowledge and skills to value and
implement effective student leadership programs.
• Have become familiar with resources that support
student leadership programs
Module One
Student Leadership
An overview
‘Vision’
The value of student leadership
programs
• Why be involved in
student leadership
programs in schools?
• Why actively work to
support and increase
student leadership &
participation?
• What’s your VISION – or
bigger picture – of WHY
the participation of young
people in schools is
important?
Why have student leadership
programs in schools?
Engaging with young people
and getting our views is one
very important way of
helping to rebuild that sense
of connection between us,
the school and the
community in which we live.
It is an opportunity to feel
respected and be confident
that our views are being
taken seriously
– Young person, World Youth Forum
Student leadership permeates all
aspects of school life
Debating
Peer Leadership
- house captains
- school captains
Creative &
Performing
Arts
Peer Support
SRC
& School
Parliaments
LEADERSHIP
Sporting
Peer
Mediation
Academic
Cultural &
Religious
Leaders
Student leaders need to work for
the benefit of all groups
Attitudes to
School… enjoy?
don’t enjoy?
LBOTE
communities
Aboriginal
Subjects
Careers
Education,
Voc Ed.
Pathways
Special Needs
School Spirit,
Culture &
Environment
Parents &
Community
PARTICIPATION
Gender
Equity
Student Teacher
Liaison &
Morale
SocioEconomic
Status
How does the Department of
Education and Training
support student leadership
programs in schools?
DET Student Welfare Policy p6
Positive school climate is enhanced by:
• Maximising student participation in decision
making…
• Ensuring principles of equity and fairness…
• … opportunities for students to demonstrate
success
• Development of skills in positive relationships,
social responsibility, problem solving and
dispute resolution
• Student views incorporated into planning
related to school climate and organisation
• Opportunities for leadership experience through
SRCs or school parliaments
Other support documents
• Values in Public Schools
• NSW DET Priorities Statement
• Charter for SRCs
DET Initiatives –
SRCs and Student Leadership
• Conduct more Premier’s youth leadership forums for
senior secondary students in their local communities
• Review existing guidelines and promote an SRC Charter
to cater for the needs of all schools
• Encourage all schools to establish an effective SRC
• Encourage more effective SRCs across school, region
and state networks
• Improve electronic communication between SRCs by
accessing the Department’s student leadership webpage
and the e-learning program
• Conduct an annual forum for SRCs to consult with
senior executive in the Department
… from the constitution
of the NSW SRC
Our main objective is:
• to take action
to improve the
quality of school
life for all students
through student
leadership programs.
‘The reality’
Student Leadership in
schools:
• Visionary or lacking
direction?
• Well supported or
seen as a ‘tack-on’?
Student motivation
depends on
three key student needs
To feel in control
of their learning
To feel
competent
To feel
connected
with others
Roger Holdsworth
quoting Walker and Kelly (2002) at
the 2005 State SRC Conference
Student leadership - Visionary
A student leadership
program should
complement the school’s
vision, management plan or
school targets.
Ideas
– Share the same goals
– Head in the same direction
– Draw links between student
leadership activities and the
directions set by the school.
Student LeadershipChallenging and meaningful?
• Are our student
leaders limited by
the challenges we
set them?
Student leadership and Quality
Teaching in NSW Schools
• Student leadership groups,
eg SRCs, can be seen as
learning teams
• All stages of student
leadership activities are also
learning experiences for
the students
• by providing opportunities
for our student leaders to
reflect on their practice,
student learning
outcomes can be
enhanced.
Intellectual quality
• Problematic knowledge
- ‘encourage students to address multiple
perspectives and/or solutions’
• Substantive communication
– encourage ‘students to regularly engage
in sustained conversations about the
concepts and ideas they are encountering’
Quality learning environment
• Engagement
– most students, ‘most of the time, are
seriously engaged in the activity rather
than going through the motions’
• Student direction
– ‘allow students to exercise some direction
over the selection of activities related to
their learning and the means and manner
by which these activities will be done’
Significance
• Inclusivity
– programs ‘require the participation of all
students across the social and cultural
backgrounds represented in the school’
• Connectedness
–programs ‘apply school knowledge in reallife contexts or problems, and provide
opportunities for students to share their
work with audiences beyond the classroom
and school’
Module 2
The SRC Teacher Adviser
How do I manage a
student leadership
program?
Module Two Outcomes
Participants will:
• Understand scaffolding theory
• Discuss the roles and responsibilities of SRC
teacher advisers
• become familiar with SRCs: a practical guide
for student leaders and teachers & the
Student leadership framework for primary
schools
• become familiar with the SRC Toolkit in the
implementation of student leadership
programs
What’s the difference between
helping and ‘taking over’?
• ‘The teacher adviser who is supposed to
support us is usually too busy, so we make
all these plans on our own… but we don’t
always know how to make our plans work.’
– SRC student
• ‘Our teacher adviser does everything! In
the school other staff don’t call us the
SRC, we are called Mr …’s group.’
– SRC student
Naïve views of decision-making
• Traditionally, the approach has
been for the SRC to either pass a
general decision calling on
others (usually teachers) to ‘do
something’.
• Alternatively, SRCs have felt that
they should lead on the issue
themselves and initiate research
or action without first checking if
they are truly representing the
wishes of the broader student
population.
•
Roger Holdsworth, University of Melbourne Youth
Research Centre, 2004 State SRC Conference
Scaffolding
to build capacity in student leaders
High challenge
Low support
High support
Low challenge
Mariani (1997)
Scaffolding
Mariani (1997)
High challenge
Low support
High support
Low challenge
Scaffolding –
How do we raise the bar for SRCs?
• Effective learning tasks
should be ahead of the
students’ abilities to complete
them alone but within their
ability to complete when
scaffolding is provided (Mercer
1994)
• Sees both teachers and
students as active participants
in learning process
Scaffolding
The Apprenticeship Model
• SRC adviser assists students
to accomplish tasks and
develop understandings they
can’t manage on their own
• Student leaders are pushed
beyond their current abilities
and levels of understanding
so that new learning can
occur
Scaffolding
SRC teacher advisers
provide support:
• at the point of need
• to help students learn not
only what to think and do
but how to think and do
• Gradually withdrawn
• To ultimately enable students
to act independently
Module Three
Effective
Practice
&
The Charter
for SRCs
Module Three Outcomes
Participants will:
• come to an understanding of the benefits
of student leadership programs and in
particular SRC programs
• Gather ideas regarding successful projects
• Gain ideas and action plan local student
leadership initiatives
What resources exist to support
student leadership programs in
schools?
• www.schools.nsw.edu.au/studentsupport
• The Charter for SRCs
• SRCs: a practical guide for student leaders and teachers
(1998, reprinted 2002)
•
•
•
•
Student leadership framework for primary schools (2001)
Just Like Us (2001)
Student Welfare Policy (2001)
SRC Toolkit (2003/04)
Professional Support: PASTA (Professional Association of SRC
Teacher Advisers) http://hsc.csu.edu.au/pta/pasta/
Who are the people that support
student leadership programs in
schools?
At school
• School principal
• Head Teacher/Coordinator Welfare or executive member of staff
• Welfare Committee
• SRC teacher adviser
In the region
• Regional or inter-school SRC coordinator (if applicable)
• Student welfare consultant
Across the state
• the Student Wellbeing Unit
•
•
Leader, Values and Student Leadership
Coordinator, Student Leadership and SRCs
92465504
92465533
The Charter for SRCs
Involved students
Students should be active citizens of the
school community and have their ideas
and opinions routinely sought and
respected.
Effective Practice
Involved students
• Parliamentary model – cabinet meets with the principal
each fortnight
• Student leadership program links to school values
statement
• Time for student consultation is built into the school
timetable
• Secondary student leaders assist in Year 6 Orientation
• A student action team is established to address access
to playground areas
• Student involvement in staff committees and community
forums
The Charter for SRCs
Making real decisions
Students from Kindergarten to Year 12 are
encouraged to contribute to and
participate in decision-making in their
school.
Effective Practice
Making real decisions
• Students collect and use data, eg surveys, to inform
decisions about school life
• Students work with staff in a ‘school construction project’
• Students control and access SRC budget to finance own
projects
• Students are involved in policy development eg, school
uniform and healthy canteen food.
• Student leadership teams co-manage focus areas in the
school, eg, ‘School Environment Team’ & ‘Sports Forum’.
The Charter for SRCs
In many places
Representative students can inform
decision-making throughout the
Department of Education and Training and
in the wider community.
Effective Practice
In many places
• Stage 5 student leaders assist Stage 3
students in learning tasks
• Primary and High School SRCs link
together for regular meetings
• Student Forums discuss local issues
• SRC representatives attend School
Council meetings
Inter-school SRC Networks
In many places
• All regions are encouraged to run interschool SRC networks.
• Inter-school networks provide
opportunities for students to share ideas
and develop projects with other students
from nearby schools
The Charter for SRCs
For everyone
Opportunities for participation and
leadership must be inclusive of gender,
special needs, cultural background,
sexuality, socio-economic status and
geographically remote circumstances.
Effective Practice
For everyone
• All Year 6 are prefects for 3 weeks
• Student leadership model involves all students
in Year 6 on a rotational basis
• Multiple participation and leadership
opportunities, eg sport, creative arts, debating
• Aboriginal student leadership programs
• Schools encourage a range of leadership styles,
eg peer support, mentoring
The Charter for SRCs
Chosen fairly
The methods used to involve students in
decisions affecting their lives should model
Australian democratic and representative
practices
Effective Practice
Chosen fairly
• Staff and student leaders educate the student
body in the election process
• Criteria for election published
• Democratic election processes used – writing
expressions of interest, making speeches
• Students measure their capacity to lead against
the school values statement
• SRC elections conducted in consultation with
local officials of the Australian Electoral
Commission
The Charter for SRCs
Well supported
Students will be prepared for and
supported in their leadership and decisionmaking roles through all aspects of the
curriculum, in classroom, whole school
and out-of-school activities
Effective Practice
Well supported
• SRC meets fortnightly with principal
• All class teachers involved in election processes
• Regular student forums. Staff ‘scaffold’ student
participation
 Year 6 student leaders supported through
transition to high school
 Principal, Head Teacher Student Welfare and
counsellor attend and participate regularly at
SRC meetings
Good Practice - Secondary
Well supported
• Regionally
– Students attend inter-school
leadership meetings and events
• State
– NSW SRC – the peak student leadership
consultative and decision-making forum
– State SRC Conference Working Party which
plans and conducts the annual State SRC
Conference
The Charter for SRCs
Appropriately recognised
The skills, values, knowledge and attitudes
that students learn from participation in
school life are vital to their future role as
citizens of a democratic society
Effective Practice
Appropriately recognised
• SRC website
• Student leadership awards at annual
presentation Day ceremony
• Student run assemblies
• Representative status for student leaders
equates with status given to students displaying
sporting success
• Student leadership acknowledged in school
reports and references