Student power: no longer a utopia?

Pupils running their own schools may sound like a recipe for chaos, but today more and more people believe in the benefits of involving students in decision-making processes. In this edition of Learning World, we look at some examples of how it could work.

Australia: students interviewing teachers

In some Australian schools, students help to interview new teachers before they are hired. The decision is ultimately made by the principal, but being involved in the selection process allows pupils to bring a fresh and important perspective on who will educate them.

Nossal High School, on the outskirts of Melbourne, is among a handful of Victorian schools using student selection panels.

“The students are the ones in the classroom learning from the teachers, not other teachers at the school learning from the teachers. So it’s very important for the students to be able to choose exactly what they want and if they feel like they communicate well with the teacher,” says Cherry Chan, Yea