Other Ways to Turn Up the Volume on the Student Voice
While student focus group research is an invaluable way to access authentic
information about students' experiences at school, it does require a great deal
of time and energy (two things that are often in short supply these days). In
this appendix, we present two alternative approaches to listening to students
and gathering information on all aspects of their school experience. While neither
approach has the scope, power, and reliability of focus group research, both
approaches are much simpler to conduct. In addition, they both demonstrate a
commitment to including students as responsible partners in school improvement
efforts. For further ideas about ways to engage students, see information about
Listening to Student Voices: Self-Study Toolkit, produced by the School Change
Collaborative, in the Annotated Bibliography, page 200.
