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Samhällsvetenskap, Utbildningsvetenskap, Social Sciences, and Educational Sciences

Much has been written about valuing the student voice in UK higher education. The discussion runs alongside an increasing focus from university leadership on improving students’ experiences, and development of the ways in which the student voice is captured, considered, and acted upon. These techniques are central to understanding and developing student engagement (Brooman et al. 2014; Cook-Sather 2006; Smith et al. 2021). Student participation in decision-making has become a key expectation for external regulatory bodies in the UK, such as the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and the Office for Students (OFS) for whom student input to university governance is non-negotiable (Neary, 2016). Student voice discourses are increasingly positioned by some commentators as integral to the neoliberal structures inherent in UK university policy and provision (Thiel 2019). This is evidenced through the use of these key quality measures which serve to reinforce individual accountability, often overshadowing collective good (Ball 2012) echoing discourses of consumer satisfaction and potentially impacting the core educational role of the university (Young & Jerome 2020).Of course, this raises the question of what is appropriate and how to ensure that students’ voices have real impact. There has been a growing interest in a structured approach to the concept of partnership to improve education, and positive outcomes have been reported when students and staff come together to co-create learning and teaching (Flint & Goddard 2020; Healey & Healey 2019; Mercer-Mapstone & Abbot 2019; Neary & Winn 2009). This research indicates that the experience can be motivational and increase learning for both parties. Additionally, it can strengthen students’ awareness of institutional processes and promote a deeper sense of student identity (Felten et al. 2014). This leads naturally to the rejection of the notion of student voice being aligned with consumer satisfaction, and instead positions students as agents of change, capable of having genuine impact on institutional agendas.In this chapter, we report on an innovative student-led project that was designed to provoke genuine and actionable reflections on the roles that senior colleagues could play in creating learning communities across a large UK university. The project aimed to work in partnership with students of colour to amplify their voices and develop a meaningful way to change attitudes and actions, with the objective of moving past good intentions to the creation of truly inclusive communities.

Samhällsvetenskap, Utbildningsvetenskap, Lärande, Social Sciences, Educational Sciences, and Learning