This case study of youth involvement in public decision-making is one of several done for Health Canada by the Canadian Association for School Health. To return to the beginning of Selected Case Studies of Youth Involvement in Public Decision-Making click here.

Overview

The B.C. Principals' and Vice Principals' Association (BCPVPA) has been supporting student leadership for ten years. Current support includes three branches of activity related to secondary school student leadership: the BC Student Voice, the Student Leadership Centre and the Student Leadership Advisory Committee, all of which involve youth in decision-making. BCPVPA's support of student leadership is consistent with the organization's goal of providing quality leadership in education. Recently, BCPVPA has created SELF (Student Educational Leadership Foundation), an independent charitable foundation dedicated to raising and granting funds in support of student leadership activities. BCPVPA has one adult staff person who spends part of her time supporting student leadership activities, as well as two part-time youth staff members who coordinate the Student Leadership Centre and support BC Student Voice activities.

BC Student Voice

BC Student Voice is a network of students and their advisors who give BC secondary school students a voice in matters of education and other youth issues. Each secondary school in BC has one student and one student leadership advisor identified as links in a provincial network that has activities at school, district, regional and provincial levels. Student leaders within this network are given the title of facilitator because their main task is to facilitate the expression of youth concerns. Student leadership advisors are school staff members, including administrators, teachers and some secretaries.

The provincial BC Student Voice network is divided into fifteen regions. One student facilitator and one staff advisor from each of the fifteen regions attend one or two provincial conferences per year. Organized with the help of the part-time student staff of the Student Leadership Centre, these provincial conferences enable student facilitators to exchange information on relevant issues with each other, the Ministry of Education and organizations such as the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC). The conferences also educate students on issues of common concern (eg. violence) and train students in facilitation and other leadership skills. Each region within BC Student Voice region also holds at least two conferences a year. These conferences connect regions with the provincial network and enable students to address issues of particular importance in their regions. District and school events give voice to student concerns and ideas at the local level and connect students at these levels with provincial and regional happenings.

Student Leadership Advisory Committee

The Student Leadership Advisory Committee is a relatively new body created to advise BCPVPA staff and board on student leadership initiatives, projects and direction. The committee is chaired by the student leadership liaison person from the BCPVPA Board of Directors and includes three students, two administrators and the BCPVPA staff person charged with supporting student leadership. Members serve staggered two-year terms. The committee has met twice since it was created in 1997. The committee suggests priority areas and plans for student leadership initiatives. As mentioned above, it was partly in response to students on this committee that BCPVPA has become more active in supporting student participation in committees and events outside the organization. Students serving on this committee come from the BC Student Voice network and are appointed based on their experience, interest and regional representation.

Student Leadership Centre

The Student Leadership Centre is an office at the BCPVPA staffed part-time by two university students with experience in BC Student Voice. This centre is a hub of communication for the BC Student Voice network and also helps organize provincial Student Voice conferences. The centre maintains a database of student and staff contacts for the Student Voice Network and produces a magazine, Student Voice, that deals with issues raised in the Student Voice network and by partners such as the Ministry of Education and ICBC. The magazine is distributed to all schools across BC through the network of student leadership advisors. The Student Leadership Centre has a 1-800 number and responds to calls requesting information and contacts. The staff of the centre also help recruit students to participate in committees and events outside BCPVPA.

SELF: the Student Educational Leadership Foundation

SELF is a registered charitable organization created by BCPVPA in 1997 to raise and grant funds in support of student leadership initiatives. The SELF board of directors includes four students who were chosen by their peers at a provincial BC Student Voice conference. SELF raises funds from public and private sources to support student leadership activities. Grants from SELF have supported the Student Leadership Centre described above as well as training for student facilitators at Student Voice events.

Keys to Success

Two keys to successful student participation in decision-making are involving students from the outset and keeping channels of communication open among the players involved. Involving students early in decision-making processes, formally and through informal consultation, brings student perspectives to play so that their integration will be easier in later stages of decision-making. It is also important to have adults who can help build bridges between adult bodies and youth initiatives. For example, the BCPVPA staff person charged with supporting student leadership helps to create communication between BC Student Voice and the Ministry of Education by listening to Ministry concerns and understanding their interests related to students having a voice. The student leadership liaison person on the BCPVPA board of directors plays a similar role by linking student perspectives with those of the organization's governing body.

Challenges

One challenge facing BC Student Voice efforts is to build stronger connections with students at district and school levels. Recent efforts have concentrated on connecting the provincial level with activities at the regional level. With this objective met, there is work to do to raise more grass-roots awareness of BC Student Voice and the opportunities for participation it offers to students.

A.     Basic Descriptive Data

The Purposes/ Goals Reflect Aims of School Principals Association and the Education Ministry

Both BCPVPA and the BC Ministry of education support student leadership and involvement. The current activities described in this report were initiated by BCPVPA volunteers. The expected outcome was more student influence on education decision-making There is a relatively good history of involving students in the province, including various activities of the education ministry.

The Youth Audience is Reflected in the Activities

Youth involved in student leadership and BC Student Voice are more diverse today than in the past. Leadership opportunities at the school level now include non-credit leadership classes, organizing recreational events and the activities of a wide variety of clubs, as well as the traditional activities of student councils. The BC Student Voice network includes students who have become involved through these various channels. While this is more inclusive than traditional student council leadership, it is still a challenge to reach out to the general population of students and to those having difficulty in school. Some schools make a point of involving students having difficulty, both because their perspectives are important to include in BC Student Voice and because their participation in leadership activities can be positive for their self-esteem and social well-being.

Assigned Resources are Significant but not Adequate

The BCPVPA and the education ministry have assigned budgets and staff time to the youth programs. There is designated office space for the students. One manager and two part time paid youth support the program. The program is dependent upon contributions from the private and voluntary sector.

The Youth Participation is Becoming Sustainable

The program has moved beyond the scope of having one or several youth super stars that operate the program. The number of youth participating in BC Student Voice is growing each year.

There is a Supportive Policy Framework

The education ministry has a written policy requiring officials to consult youth. BCPVPA has similar position statements.

There is a Written Plan

The BC Student Leadership Centre has a written plan and budget.

B.     Levels of Involvement

The Group Participation Offers a Variety of Involvement Levels

The BCPVPA student leadership initiatives make use of all three types of   involvement as defined by CMHA (1995): collective, episodic, developmental and networking. This comprehensive approach makes for solid participation. Some of the initiatives BC Student Voice is involved in are episodic, including specific consultations such as the revisions to the personal/social development curriculum (CAPP). Involvement of students in events and committees outside the BCPVPA is also episodic, as are informal consultations of students by BCPVPA staff.

Student participation in SLAC is an example of developmental involvement in the organization. Student involvement on the board of SELF, an independent organization created by BCPVPA, is another example of such developmental involvement.

The BC Student Voice is an example of consultative/networking activity that links youth organizations.

Individual Levels of Involvement are Also Varied

Core leaders include two SLAC members, four SELF board members, two student staff of Student Leadership Centre, 15 regional student facilitators and other students co-ordinating various consultations. Students also serve as volunteers on various committees and events outside the organization.

There are also over 2000 attendees, students who are participating in consultations, events at district and school levels. Thousands more have been recipients or responders to the ICBC survey on graduated licensing

C.     Are the Roles Assigned to Youth Appropriate?

Youth have been assigned a variety of roles/tasks, including students serving on committees outside organization and students leading consultations initiated by adult organizations such as the Ministry of Education.

Adults and youth initiate and share decision-making within SLAC, SELF, and BC Student Voice.

Youth have initiated decisions and programs such as various BC Student Voice projects (eg. training for regional student facilitators).

D.  The Quality of the Process

Basic Principles of Youth Participation are being Respected

After a meeting or two with SLAC, student members learn that their ideas are respected so they feel safe to speak. Student staff of the Student Leadership Centre also feel safe to speak with the BCPVPA staff person responsible for student participation.

Input from students to guide BCPVPA student leadership initiatives comes through SLAC, SELF board, BC Student Voice provincial conferences and informal consultations as needed. BCPVPA facilitates student input in other organizations.

Student input is respected by being applied. Actions are taken on the SLAC student suggestion of promoting student leadership in outside organizations, the BC student voice suggestions for provincial conference activities and the changes in CAPP curriculum are all examples of how youth suggestions have been implemented.

Students identify their own issues through BC Student Voice conferences. They also respond to issues identified by adult organizations. Students share ideas on possible solutions to problems at BC Student Voice conferences. They also identify issues and suggest solutions through participation on committees and in events.

BC Student Voice has been involved in identifying problems, analysing findings of focus groups and giving input to policy (eg. CAPP curriculum).

Student members of the SELF board and SLAC give input into spending priorities.

Through BC Student Voice conferences, students share expertise with one another and identify training they would like to see from adults.

Student Facilitators and Student Leadership Advisors at all levels (provincial, regional, district, school) are responsible for recruiting new youth to BC Student Voice, both as leaders and as participants in activities. This creates a pool of experienced youth to fill positions on the SLAC and SELF Boards.

At the grass roots, leadership classes help develop skills and confidence in high school students. BCPVPA is currently considering extending its leadership initiatives to include senior elementary school students.

Feedback on the process of BC Student Voice comes from student conferences. For example, students at a provincial conference recently decided to take on the title of student facilitators rather than student representatives. This distinction suggests that the process focuses more on training youth to facilitate the gathering of youth input rather than on identifying youth who will represent the views of their peers.

There did not seem to be a systematic approach to recording or evaluating student involvement. Some of this evaluation takes place through SLAC and BC Student Voice Conferences.

Many of the Barriers are being Addressed

A traditional attitude toward students as only being the recipients of services is one barrier to increased student participation in decisions about the education system. While there has been significant change toward more support for student participation in decision-making, there is still room for improvement. Supporting opportunities for student leadership and participation helps change these attitudes as people recognize the value of student input. Granting credit for student leadership courses, which are currently non-credit, would be one way to validate the importance of student involvement.

Geography is sometimes a barrier to student participation. While BCPVPA activities involving students strive for geographic representation, this is not always supported by other organizations. Some Ministry of Education committees operate on tight time lines and budgets that do not allow for participation of students from the north of the province. The cost of student participation who must fly to meetings is high because they must be accompanied by an adult. Provincial BC Student Voice conferences help inform students in the Lower Mainland of issues in the north.

The student leadership liaison person from the BCPVPA Board of Directors chairs the SLAC meetings and helps members of the committee understand their role. Student input in formal processes is recorded, and minutes are taken of BC Student Voice Conferences and SLAC meetings.

The BCPVPA Board liaison person for student leadership said that he had seen students become less cynical, and presumably less apathetic, when they saw that they were really listened to and their input had concrete impact. However, it is still a challenge to reach the general school population.

The BCPVPA has a clear plan and commitment for involving students. They support students in making presentations outside the organization to have an impact on the broader education system. The organization has documented student participation in consultations so it has examples of successful participation.

Student facilitators enable other students to identify issues important to them, as well as to respond to issues identified by others.

There did not seem to be much resistance from within BCPVPA. Supporting student participation has become one of the on-going areas of programming, supported by a mission statement under development, staff, office space and a budget. BCPVPA staff promote student participation outside the organization and have a ready pool of capable youth to refer to committees and conferences. The experience of having able youth participate has made some adults more eager to involve students.

Enabling Factors are in Place

The youth staff of the Student Leadership Centre, who have experience in BC Student Voice, are there as a resource to other students. Some nurturing of successors also takes place at provincial conferences and through regional representatives who help organize regional conferences.

Non-credit student leadership classes help students gain leadership skills. Other training takes place at conferences, including training in facilitation skills.

Board student leadership liaison, adult staff member, student leadership centre staff, network of student leadership advisors all provide guidance and emotional support to the youth.

Travel, telecom (including 1-800 line to student leadership centre), money for provincial and regional conferences are also provided.

The BCPVPA staff person promotes student participation in committees and events, thus promoting youth as positive contributors.

Members of SLAC serve staggered 2-year terms, thereby ensuring some continuity.

Several Developmental Needs of Youth are being Met

Youth leaders are recognized by their peers at conferences and by staff and volunteer student leadership advisors who affirm the value of youth contributions. Specific competencies, namely, facilitation skills are being promoted among provincial student facilitators. There is time for fun and socializing at provincial BC Voice conferences.

The Youth are Accountable

When students from BC Student Voice speak at events outside the organization, or on committees, including SLAC, they are speaking for themselves and are not expected to formally represent BC Student Voice. However, their own perspectives have been affected by their communication with other students in the network.

Student leadership advisors help students balance their participation in student leadership with other aspects of their lives.

Student facilitators are expected to bring information from the provincial conference to their regions and from the regional conferences to their districts and schools.

Several Adults are Prepared to Assist Youth Participate

BCPVPA supports youth participation in decision-making in many ways. BCPVPA provides office space and staff support to initiatives that give students a voice within BCPVPA, in provincial ministries and in other organizations. One member of the organization's board of directors is designated as a liaison with student leadership activities. This liaison position provides leadership as well as a channel of communication with the board of directors. Two school administrators volunteer their time and energy to contribute along with students on the Student Leadership advisor committee. SELF, created by BCPVPA, helps fund initiatives that give students a voice and help them develop leadership skills.

Across the province a network of high school staff members support BC Student Voice initiatives as student leadership advisors. These student leadership advisors have formed their own provincial organization to better co-ordinate their contribution to BC Student Voice activities. They are key to the organization of BC Student Voice activities at the provincial, regional, district and school levels. They are also conduits of information and bring stability needed to counteract the naturally high turnover of graduating students involved in BC Student Voice.

The BCPVPA staff person also provides support regularly, promoting student involvement. Student leadership advisors are also advocates.

Students are trusted to present at conferences and participate on committees. They are also trusted to organize conferences.

The staff person in the BCPVPA office listens to youth as part of her job. Others do so as volunteers (board liaison, student leadership advisors).

The BCPVPA Board liaison person helps youth on SLAC understand organizational structures and the role of an advisory committee.

E.     Specific Supports and Processes

Quality of interactions

The BCPVPA Board liaison person for student participation is the person who shares information equally with youth and adult members of SLAC. He is the key influencer to whom the committee members have access. The youth and adult status is officially the same but students usually take a few meetings to realize they can operate as equals.

F.     Evidence that the Youth Program has an Impact

The BC Student Voice network has also been mobilized to give student input into issues of concern to the Ministry of Education and the Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC). After the introduction of BC's Career and Personal Planning Curriculum, the Ministry of Education asked BC Student Voice to organize regional forums to get student input into how the curriculum should be revised. Student input from these forums had a significant impact on the revised curriculum. More recently, BCPVPA has published a document summarizing students' responses on four questions about life after school posed by the Ministry of Education. Input for this publication came from ten BC Student Voice forums across the province and the report was written on contract by a student from the network. ICBC also worked though the BC Student Voice network to conduct a survey on graduated licensing. BCPVPA staff also consult informally with students in the BC Student Voice network as required.

The outcomes of student leadership initiatives can be seen at three levels. At the systemic level student input into the revision of the provincial Career and Personal Planning curriculum had significant effect on what is taught in B.C. schools. Secondary school students across the province are likely to be affected by the changes to this curriculum that have been made to make this program more relevant to their needs. There are also positive outcomes for the students involved in student leadership and decision-making. These include a sense of belonging for those who feel that their ideas have been listened to by adults, increased self-esteem from the accomplishment of successful activities and enhanced social and problem-solving skills.

The BCPVPA's general goal of supporting student leadership and giving students a voice in the education system has clearly been met by the organization's support of BC Student Voice, the Student Leadership Centre, the Student Leadership Advisory Committee (SLAC) and the Student Educational Leadership Foundation (SELF). Through SLAC, students help shape the general direction of BCPVPA initiatives in support of student leadership. These initiatives give students voice outside BCPVPA; within the Ministry of Education, ICBC, on various committees, at conferences, within school districts and individual schools. A concrete example of action resulting from student input in SLAC is that BCPVPA staff now promote and recruit for student participation in a variety of committees and events outside the organization.

To date, BC Student Voice has been most successful in creating an active provincial network of regional student facilitators. A current challenge for BC Student Voice and its supporters is to strengthen lines of communication and cooperation at the district and school levels. While student leaders are drawn from a more varied student population than in the past, it is an on-going challenge to involve students who are more marginalized in the school system.