The role of students in education is changing. The shift that is occurring is moving students from being passive recipients of instruction to active participants in their own learning. Simply googling the terms "speak up," "speak out," or "personalized learning" will bring up examples of new initiatives that various provinces have introduced to give students a more dominant voice in education. Other examples are student leadership teams, service projects, and Ministry of Education stu­dent forums. Changes to teaching practice such as stu­dent-centred instruction, teaching for multiple intelli­gences, and differentiated instruction also emphasize the role of the individual student in the classroom. While some of these initiatives have appeared in the past, today there is an intentional, systematic movement to signifi­cantly alter the role of the student.

Now many of you may be wondering why we need to concern ourselves with trends in public education. But before we dismiss the topic out of hand, we need to look more closely at the practice in our own schools. Here too the movement is gaining popularity. While the more drastic components of these initiatives (which would see the child deciding what to learn, how to learn it, and when to learn it) do not live in our schools, some of the more subtle changes are certainly present. In particular, the concept of student leadership has gained momentum in Canadian Reformed schools in the last few years. Have these changes occurred in isolation, or are our schools subtly buying in to the broader movement to empower students? In either case, does student leadership fit with our vision for Christian education? In order to take a position on this topic, we will need to consider where the movement of empowering students in educational decision making comes from, why it is gaining momentum, and what the perspective of parents and teachers who support and maintain covenantal education should be on this concept.

A Major Shift⤒🔗

If we were to take a walk down memory lane, most readers would likely agree that the teacher was tradition­ally the dominant individual in the classroom. It was the teacher, as the central dispenser of knowledge, who pro­vided students with the information they needed to learn. There might have been a few research assignments, and the odd hands-on learning activity, but by and large, the teacher stood at the front of the classroom and taught. This is no longer the model for educating students; in­stead, the role of the teacher is often referred to as that of a learning coach or guide. While there may still be a lag between new educational theory and what is actual­ly occurring in our classrooms, the focus of education programs and professional development opportunities has certainly shifted in this direction. A major impetus for this shift was the introduction of child-centred learning. Although earlier educational theorists laid the foundation for this new approach to education, it's only in the last few decades that the movement has really caught on.

Although some schools have pursued the concept to the extent of giving the child full decision making power (research Sudbury schools to see some examples), most haven't gone that far. The emphasis of placing the student at the center, however, has become the common philosophy in education. The new BC Education Plan clearly emphasizes this with the statement: "it's all about putting students at the centre of education." The focus on the child can also be found in the United Nations decision to adopt the "Convention on the Rights of the Child" in 1989.

Article 12 of this document declares that,

state parties shall assure to the child who is capable of form­ing his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.

In the last few years provin­cial governments have begun to create a more powerful role for students through programming options and so­cial media forums.

Growing Popularity←⤒🔗

Besides the overt, stated history for the movement to empower students, I would also suggest there are more subtle reasons for why the concept has grown in popu­larity. For starters, there is a societal shift occurring that is actively promoting individualism. This individualism has trickled down to our teenagers and young adults as well. This increasing emphasis on individualistic wants and needs (see Sir Ken Robinson's speech on TED.com as evidence of this) has created pressure to change an educational system that was built on a group instruction model. At the same time, the attack on the nuclear family has left many students without strong parental involve­ment. Recent statistics show that in the USA nearly forty percent of children are born out of wedlock. The Canadian scene is no better with statistics for both divorce rates and children born outside of a two-parent family on the rise. There certainly isn't a direct correlation be­tween non-nuclear families and parental involvement in education, but there are complications that arise when children don't have two supportive parents in the picture.

Coupled with this increasing emphasis on individ­ualism is the loss of the teacher as knowledge dispen­ser. The growth of technology over the last ten years has been staggering. It used to be that the teacher dispensed information piece by piece to a child, but now students can find information on their own in seconds on their phone or laptop. The shift in education is towards teach­ing the necessary skills for students to access the infor­mation, compile and analyze the data, and discern im­plications based on the information they have collected and considered. The focus has also shifted away from one label of intelligence to a broader understanding of talents and abilities. Teachers are now being challenged to differentiate their instruction to cater more to individ­ual students.

On a more positive note, the shift towards increasing the role of students as decision makers has also been driven by a desire to increase their engagement in learn­ing. Although not a lot of research has been done on the correlation between empowering students and engage­ment, there is evidence of a positive impact on engage­ment when students are allowed to have a say in their education. On an intuitive level, this will resonate with many of us. From planning family holidays, to choosing suppers or desserts, to selecting what chore they will do, we can find plenty of evidence in our own homes that children respond well to having input in the decision making process. The intentional placement of children at the centre of education, the collapse of the nuclear family, increased individualism, and a desire to foster engagement have together pushed the student into the spotlight in educational planning and decision making.

An Opportunity←⤒🔗

So what should we as Christians think about all of this? As I noted earlier, the temptation may be to dis­miss it all as post-modern tripe and new age philosophy. In my view, doing so would mean missing a significant opportunity. Granted, in certain aspects the discern­ing Christian parent would be right to be skeptical. The first criticism should likely be that we don't have the student in the centre of education; rather, we reserve that place for God. This is a significant difference in perspective. It means that the parents, through the school board, may make choices that aren't necessarily popular with students but are still deemed to be necessary for a God-glorifying education. Some examples of this might be mandated community service hours, zeroes for missed assignments, or mandating that students take a second language or a fine arts course. As Christians we also hold up our elders as ones who provide leadership and advice rather than expecting this leadership from children. For example, Proverbs repeatedly calls on children to heed the instruction of their parents, and Corinthians speaks of the difference between childish thoughts and mature thoughts (1 Corinthians 13:11).

As well, we don't encourage an individualistic focus in our schools, churches, or homes. The leadership struc­ture of all three institutions is built on a biblical under­standing of respecting those in authority over us. In the home, this means the parents have the responsibility to lead their families; in the church, this means that the authority lies with the consistory; and in our schools, this places authority with the parents through the school board. Much of the movement towards empowering stu­dents in the public education sphere is based on a narcis­sistic desire for self-gratification and on individual wants and needs.              

Simply because the secular interest in redefining the role of students is misguided, however, doesn't mean that the concept itself has no merit. When other educational topics have arisen, our schools have had to consider what aspects fit our worldview, and which portions we needed to discard. This has been true when dealing with topics such as discipline techniques, extracurricular activities, assessment practices, teaching students with special needs, and differentiated instruction; it should also be our practice when considering student leadership!

Some in our communities would suggest that there is no place for such a concept in our schools and that the school is purely an institution that provides academic in­struction from a Reformed perspective. I respectfully disagree. I believe that our schools do need to take an active role in fostering the growth of our children as leaders. Most Christian parents would agree with the statement that our worldview permeates everything we do; this is one of the reasons it is so important to us to have schools that teach from the same perspective as the home and the church. The same is true about our walk of faith. If it is true that we can't separate our words and deeds (I think here of the instruction found in the book of James), then it is vitally important that we consider how our schools can equip our students not only to have a proper perspective on God and his creation, but also to develop the skills and confidence to live a life of faithful service.

Student Leadership←⤒🔗

Evidence suggests that many of our schools are trend­ing in this direction, from which I infer that this belief is more widespread. At the classroom level, many of our teachers already use student feedback techniques to in­form their practice; however, it is the increased emphasis on student leadership in broader school activities that I would highlight in particular. A review of monthly maga­zines from a selection of our schools shows students being involved in leadership teams and other student council type organizations. These groups often take a lead role in planning fun social activities for the student body, or work with teachers to organize assemblies. Elemen­tary schools are encouraging students to participate in, or lead, parent/student/teacher conferences. Students are being challenged to raise money for mission work, to participate in short term mission trips, or to actively play a role in volunteer service in the broader commun­ity. Courses on leadership are being offered. If our prac­tice reflects our vision, I would suggest that the vision of educating our students is broadening to move beyond the boundaries of instruction based on a Christian worldview and curriculum.

While the practice of expanding the role of the stu­dent in our schools may support my assertion, I wonder if the current trend of empowering students in broader school roles is a product of an intentional plan. Or could it be that this trend is simply proving the age-old saying that "when it rains in the world it drips in the church" (or in this case the school)? Perhaps schools are bend­ing to student or parent requests for increased leadership activities without asking what the philosophy for doing so should be. With the altering technological and peda­gogical landscape in education, the pressure to change will come whether we prepare for it or not. Curriculum choices and ministry of education decisions will increas­ingly emphasize the active involvement of students. The ready access to information isn't going away. The social alterations to the family that are occurring in Canadian society are only going to increase the emphasis on indi­vidualism. While not every model for empowering stu­dents is appropriate to our school context, I would sug­gest that it is time for our parents and school boards to embrace an intentional approach to fostering student leadership in our schools.

In the school I work, we surveyed parents to see what skills, traits, and virtues they would most want the school to work at developing during their child's school age years. Not surprisingly, academic skills and Chris­tian apologetics were at the top of the list. But right be­hind them were volunteerism, empathy, and leadership; I suspect the same results would be found in most of our school communities. In our churches this issue of leadership is also prevalent; the growth in popularity of men­torship, office bearer training sessions, and young adult retreats all hint at a desire to better equip the young­er generation to lead. We may not buy into the popular philosophy of giving students a voice because we believe they inherently "deserve" one, but we desire to see our children grow into confident, articulate, service-ori­ented, godly adults, a goal to be shared with our homes and churches.

Parents, school boards, staff, and, dare I say, stu­dents, need to decide if this is really the vision they have for Christian education, and if so, how it will be worked out in our schools. As we consider our children's educa­tion, is there a desire and a plan to also use our schools to equip our children so that they may grow to fulfill the challenge given by Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12:

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity