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Listen to the voices of children and young people. This is the challenge issued by the Commissioner for Children and the Schools Trustees Association.
“I am a library, quiet but filled with knowledge – it’s dumb [that I’m not asked]”, was just one of the comments made in a survey of young people asking them about what they think of school.
These insights are contained in six reports prepared jointly by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and the New Zealand School Trustees Association.
Six key insights have been identified about how children and young people experience school, and what could be improved in the education system:
- Understand me in my whole world
- People at school are racist towards me
- Relationships mean everything to me
- Teach me the way I learn best
- I need to be comfortable before I can learn
- It’s my life – let me have a say
An online survey and face-to-face interviews with children and young people were used to gather the data.
A diverse group of children and young people took part, some of whom would be termed “priority learners” by the Ministry of Education.
The project was designed to hear from children and young people about what was working well for them, and what could be improved in their educational experiences.
The New Zealand School Trustees Association and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner have offered two strategic recommendations:
- The Minister of Education considers appropriate systemic responses to the experiences of students highlighted in this report when issuing the Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities
- The Ministry of Education engages with children and young people as part of the Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities consultation process and commits to including this engagement as an on-going element of the process in the future
Source
- occ.org.nz
- occ.org.nz
- Image: stuff.co.nz
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