Developing a Reflective Teaching Practice Based on Student Voice: Some Changes

Abstract

Abstract: Overcoming certain perspectives of teaching that have interpreted teachers as technician, now we consider the teacher as an agent that makes decisions and judgements, does research on his practice, etc., where reflection is an integral part of his daily work (Marcelo, 1987). Thus, situations that influence educational practice are complex and genuine and teachers should reflect on them in context and implement ad hoc strategies to address them (Schön 1998; Zeichner, 2010). Under these assumptions we have constructed a proposal for teacher reflection that takes into account the movement of student voice as a driver of change in school. We understand that setting spaces for dialogue in classrooms and in schools in which voices of students are heard are important in order to understand what vision this group has regarding their education (Oliveria -Formosinho, 2008; Fielding, 2011). This can be established as a powerful tool to encourage reflective processes focusing on transforming and improving. We present some of these thoughts, which come from a number of interviews carried out in some schools in Cantabria (Spain) with teachers who participated in student voice experiences. We've organized these reflections into three major areas: school level (how the collaborative project has helped build a more democratic school culture), their role as teachers (how listening to the student voice caused changes in their teaching; how they transformed the image of their students seeing them as critical partners in the process of change), changes in students (improvements of their self-perception, sense of belonging…).