fundamental shift in our collective mindset is required if we are to transform education to best serve youth as well as society on the whole: the voices of young people are pivotal for true transformation. Young people are the primary stakeholders in our education systems, yet they are conspicuously missing from conversations about what they need, what they want, and how they envision their own futures. We—those with power to shape outcomes—need to encourage the inclusion of young people to voice their ideas and opinions and to actively influence the design and implementation of their own education. This means that youth are not just listened to, but also heard—and that their voices shape outcomes.
Each country has a different education story—with differing economic, social and political factors influencing how the various systems are designed and function as well as who and what these systems serve. We recognise that elements of the system often lead to inequities in quality and access to education and that not all stakeholders share the same goals. Education has become an industry. As such, the user experience should form the basis of the design.
Take for example the concept of reverse mentorship. We often talk about mentorship and automatically assume that the adult holds the wisdom. Turn this around, and imagine how valuable it would be for each adult who is navigating the education landscape to have young person to guide and mentor them! Imagine how mind expanding it would be to have an empowered, fully valued, youth perspective on policy decisions, program design and content selection! We call upon adult readers of this paper to find a youth and ask them to mentor you. Or if you are a youth reading this, perhaps you would be willing to find an adult and offer to be their mentor. By doing this, we shift the narrative as it will quickly be realized that youth have the answers and wisdom that adults are desperately seeking. It is a revolutionary idea to allow students to have power in the learning process.
Transformation means transformation for everyone. To create real change, we need a different approach than what was used to create the existing system. To pursue this goal, we propose seven keys to inspire a shift to the collective mindset toward one that includes youth in transforming education. It is important to know that these are ideas for immediate and practical application—meaning, that there is no hierarchy of importance and all points contribute equally to the process, working in tandem with one another.
Simplicity
When transforming education and centering youth voices, it is important to remember to keep it simple. It is not about over complicated strategy or tactics, it is about remembering to ask the youth what transformation they want to see and then allowing them to have a hand in creating it. When we talk about teachers and learners, we invite you to apply a reverse mentorship approach to the classroom—remembering that the wisdom and the answer is in the room.
Practice what you preach
For years, different stakeholders have talked about the necessity of educational transformation and the steps required to move forward The involvement of young people in decision-making and action is invariably one of them. Good initiatives already exist, but it is time to make them systemic. If each stakeholder sincerely embodies this commitment in their actions, they will practice what they preach. The power of words is revealed when the person who delivers them also embodies them.
Representation
Education transformation concerns everyone in society, therefore it is important that everyone is represented in the decision-making process. Youth are plural and diverse. It is important to include the great diversity of youth in order to reach as many people as possible. This includes ensuring representation across many sectors and levels—including countries, cultures, religions, genders, and ages. It means including subgroups, especially those at the margins, in the actual design and planning of programs.
Before planning a decision-making process, reflect on the people involved in the process. Who is making the decision? Who is this decision going to effect and influence? Look at the discrepancy between decision makers and the people impacted by the decision. If there is a discrepancy, work to change it. Invite everyone to join the decision-making process and ensure that the participation is accessible.
Involvement
Involvement of young people is not just representation, ensured by simply inviting young people to meetings. Raising one‘s voice as the only young person in the room takes a lot of courage. To ensure that young people are fully able to participate, it is essential to engage them in the entire process—from the first steps of planning an event, a program, or even an assessment. This enables every voice to be heard and each idea an equal chance to develop. The way young people feel comfortable and creative in a meeting might differ from that of policymakers, and if you are wondering how or why, just ask.
Creating a space that allows for everyone to get out of their comfort zone and be challenged with new ideas and approaches from different subgroups is critical, and indeed, transformational in itself. Adult leaders, teachers and facilitators may need to evaluate their own need for control and willingness to listen with an open mind. To truly involve youth, from the first step onward, ensures that no idea gets lost and that everyone’s view has the chance to be heard. Adults must be able to recognise the positive value of this approach. For example, it does not make sense for adults to guess at the topics that are of interest to youth because they simply cannot know. We are suggesting that when planning programs of any kind, adults include youth in the process and actually integrate them into the critical conversations—rather than added as an afterthought.
As with all efforts at inclusion, lowering barriers to engagement is key. Because adults do control education resources, they must take the lead to organize participation for young people. Keep in mind that young people are often not used to attending conferences or other events and may require preparation and support—including allowances for absences and late work—in order to be able to participate.
Community
We are convinced that it is necessary to form communities of young people so that they can express themselves in a confident and representative way. By bringing young people together as a community you provide them with a critical opportunity to understand their own diversity, but more importantly, this collective dynamic gives them the confidence and courage to present their ideas to governing bodies and decision makers, which can be intimidating to young people.
Many community building tools exist today and have proven their worth. These tools include processes such as establishing goals and agreements as a group. Building trust through dialogue, boundary setting and positive feedback loops. The value on deep listening can be reinforced through intentional practices and of course modelling by adults. Building on these tools, it is important to create a learning community for all young people with appreciation for individual identity as well as collective learning that will allow them to grow personally and in turn, impact the evolution of the education system that they are a part of.
Commitment
Commitment is the willingness to do something you believe in. All stakeholders in the field of education transformation have their own ideas and ideologies. Progress is made if everyone is spending their full energy on their responsibility. If you are convinced that youth involvement plays an essential role in the process of education transformation, think about what you can do to authentically involve young people and then follow through.
Commitment does not need to be difficult. Create a commitment group with other stakeholders and state your pledge. This will increase accountability and follow through. Actions and efforts for social change are ineffective without full commitment. To fully commit to something, it is important to be clear about your own values and opinions.
Transparency
Transparency is essential for trust and growth. It is important to allow youth to know which parts of their learning can be influenced and which cannot. As an educator, ask your students what they want, what they do not like and find out why. Explain to them what can be changed and what cannot, and why. This allows for transparency in both the teaching and the learning processes and shifts power to the students. There may not be much that can be changed, but when students understand why decisions are being made, there is bound to be more buy-in, a higher level of commitment, and a more robust level of engagement.
Conclusion
If you are an educator, we invite you to cultivate a new mindset of shifting power to students and allow them to be advocates of their own learning. If you are a student, we invite you to speak up about your own education, ask for what you need, and advocate for the type of learning that works for you. No matter your position in a learning environment, ask yourself “what can I do today to shift the power to the students?”.
The key words for us are: simplicity, representation, commitment, transparency, community, and involvement. The tools of collective intelligence and participatory education exist and have been proven in many schools. Let us use these same tools in decision-making processes on a global scale. We know the tools, we know how to use them, we just have to apply them to transforming education to include youth voice.
a global affairs media network
Youth Must Participate in Educational Transformation
Photo by Brandon Hoogenboom via Unsplash.
September 22, 2022
Young people are the primary stakeholders in our education systems, yet they are conspicuously missing from conversations. For the education transformation to serve youth as well as society, the voices of young people must be heard, according to a working group report from Salzburg Global Seminar.
A
fundamental shift in our collective mindset is required if we are to transform education to best serve youth as well as society on the whole: the voices of young people are pivotal for true transformation. Young people are the primary stakeholders in our education systems, yet they are conspicuously missing from conversations about what they need, what they want, and how they envision their own futures. We—those with power to shape outcomes—need to encourage the inclusion of young people to voice their ideas and opinions and to actively influence the design and implementation of their own education. This means that youth are not just listened to, but also heard—and that their voices shape outcomes.
Each country has a different education story—with differing economic, social and political factors influencing how the various systems are designed and function as well as who and what these systems serve. We recognise that elements of the system often lead to inequities in quality and access to education and that not all stakeholders share the same goals. Education has become an industry. As such, the user experience should form the basis of the design.
Take for example the concept of reverse mentorship. We often talk about mentorship and automatically assume that the adult holds the wisdom. Turn this around, and imagine how valuable it would be for each adult who is navigating the education landscape to have young person to guide and mentor them! Imagine how mind expanding it would be to have an empowered, fully valued, youth perspective on policy decisions, program design and content selection! We call upon adult readers of this paper to find a youth and ask them to mentor you. Or if you are a youth reading this, perhaps you would be willing to find an adult and offer to be their mentor. By doing this, we shift the narrative as it will quickly be realized that youth have the answers and wisdom that adults are desperately seeking. It is a revolutionary idea to allow students to have power in the learning process.
Transformation means transformation for everyone. To create real change, we need a different approach than what was used to create the existing system. To pursue this goal, we propose seven keys to inspire a shift to the collective mindset toward one that includes youth in transforming education. It is important to know that these are ideas for immediate and practical application—meaning, that there is no hierarchy of importance and all points contribute equally to the process, working in tandem with one another.
Simplicity
When transforming education and centering youth voices, it is important to remember to keep it simple. It is not about over complicated strategy or tactics, it is about remembering to ask the youth what transformation they want to see and then allowing them to have a hand in creating it. When we talk about teachers and learners, we invite you to apply a reverse mentorship approach to the classroom—remembering that the wisdom and the answer is in the room.
Practice what you preach
For years, different stakeholders have talked about the necessity of educational transformation and the steps required to move forward The involvement of young people in decision-making and action is invariably one of them. Good initiatives already exist, but it is time to make them systemic. If each stakeholder sincerely embodies this commitment in their actions, they will practice what they preach. The power of words is revealed when the person who delivers them also embodies them.
Representation
Education transformation concerns everyone in society, therefore it is important that everyone is represented in the decision-making process. Youth are plural and diverse. It is important to include the great diversity of youth in order to reach as many people as possible. This includes ensuring representation across many sectors and levels—including countries, cultures, religions, genders, and ages. It means including subgroups, especially those at the margins, in the actual design and planning of programs.
Before planning a decision-making process, reflect on the people involved in the process. Who is making the decision? Who is this decision going to effect and influence? Look at the discrepancy between decision makers and the people impacted by the decision. If there is a discrepancy, work to change it. Invite everyone to join the decision-making process and ensure that the participation is accessible.
Involvement
Involvement of young people is not just representation, ensured by simply inviting young people to meetings. Raising one‘s voice as the only young person in the room takes a lot of courage. To ensure that young people are fully able to participate, it is essential to engage them in the entire process—from the first steps of planning an event, a program, or even an assessment. This enables every voice to be heard and each idea an equal chance to develop. The way young people feel comfortable and creative in a meeting might differ from that of policymakers, and if you are wondering how or why, just ask.
Creating a space that allows for everyone to get out of their comfort zone and be challenged with new ideas and approaches from different subgroups is critical, and indeed, transformational in itself. Adult leaders, teachers and facilitators may need to evaluate their own need for control and willingness to listen with an open mind. To truly involve youth, from the first step onward, ensures that no idea gets lost and that everyone’s view has the chance to be heard. Adults must be able to recognise the positive value of this approach. For example, it does not make sense for adults to guess at the topics that are of interest to youth because they simply cannot know. We are suggesting that when planning programs of any kind, adults include youth in the process and actually integrate them into the critical conversations—rather than added as an afterthought.
As with all efforts at inclusion, lowering barriers to engagement is key. Because adults do control education resources, they must take the lead to organize participation for young people. Keep in mind that young people are often not used to attending conferences or other events and may require preparation and support—including allowances for absences and late work—in order to be able to participate.
Community
We are convinced that it is necessary to form communities of young people so that they can express themselves in a confident and representative way. By bringing young people together as a community you provide them with a critical opportunity to understand their own diversity, but more importantly, this collective dynamic gives them the confidence and courage to present their ideas to governing bodies and decision makers, which can be intimidating to young people.
Many community building tools exist today and have proven their worth. These tools include processes such as establishing goals and agreements as a group. Building trust through dialogue, boundary setting and positive feedback loops. The value on deep listening can be reinforced through intentional practices and of course modelling by adults. Building on these tools, it is important to create a learning community for all young people with appreciation for individual identity as well as collective learning that will allow them to grow personally and in turn, impact the evolution of the education system that they are a part of.
Commitment
Commitment is the willingness to do something you believe in. All stakeholders in the field of education transformation have their own ideas and ideologies. Progress is made if everyone is spending their full energy on their responsibility. If you are convinced that youth involvement plays an essential role in the process of education transformation, think about what you can do to authentically involve young people and then follow through.
Commitment does not need to be difficult. Create a commitment group with other stakeholders and state your pledge. This will increase accountability and follow through. Actions and efforts for social change are ineffective without full commitment. To fully commit to something, it is important to be clear about your own values and opinions.
Transparency
Transparency is essential for trust and growth. It is important to allow youth to know which parts of their learning can be influenced and which cannot. As an educator, ask your students what they want, what they do not like and find out why. Explain to them what can be changed and what cannot, and why. This allows for transparency in both the teaching and the learning processes and shifts power to the students. There may not be much that can be changed, but when students understand why decisions are being made, there is bound to be more buy-in, a higher level of commitment, and a more robust level of engagement.
Conclusion
If you are an educator, we invite you to cultivate a new mindset of shifting power to students and allow them to be advocates of their own learning. If you are a student, we invite you to speak up about your own education, ask for what you need, and advocate for the type of learning that works for you. No matter your position in a learning environment, ask yourself “what can I do today to shift the power to the students?”.
The key words for us are: simplicity, representation, commitment, transparency, community, and involvement. The tools of collective intelligence and participatory education exist and have been proven in many schools. Let us use these same tools in decision-making processes on a global scale. We know the tools, we know how to use them, we just have to apply them to transforming education to include youth voice.
