Voice: Providing support and building capacity for meaningful participation
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Share accessible background resources in appropriate formats explaining the topic(s) at hand, the processes and possible outcomes
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Provide support and professional learning opportunities to those interacting with learners and families, to develop relevant knowledge, understanding and skills
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Provide appropriate working methods, adapted to individual participants’ profiles and capacities
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Encourage participants to express their views in a way that is accessible, relevant, appropriate and meaningful, keeping in mind context, age and preferences (cultural, linguistic, artistic, creative, spoken, written, recorded, etc.)
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Explain to participants that others may have different opinions from theirs, and decisions will take all voices into account
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Set realistic expectations, clarifying that participating and voicing one’s opinions does not guarantee desired outcomes
Practical tools
Workshop activities with learners
Workshop activities with learners
This resource includes concrete activity ideas for engaging learners and encouraging them to share their voices.
Guidelines for conducting activities with families
Guidelines for conducting activities with families
This resource includes concrete activity ideas for engaging families and encouraging them to share their voices.
Example questions for learners
Example questions for learners
This resource includes a list of example questions that could be used to obtain information from learners about their school experiences.
What is a researcher? A video for children
What is a researcher? A video for children
This short, engaging video helps children better understand research. The video can be used by researchers from many fields to help them explain what they do.
Student Voices Handbook: Reaching the ‘hard to reach’
Student Voices Handbook: Reaching the ‘hard to reach’
This toolkit was created collaboratively with institutions from Austria, Denmark, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom (England). It provides illustrative examples of how teachers and other practitioners can engage and support learners to share their voices.
What you should expect from adults when they work with you
What you should expect from adults when they work with you
This resource aims to support the agency of children and young people around the world. It explains that they can and should have expectations of adults during participatory activities.