Student voice
Every student has the right to voice his or her opinion, to be heard and to contribute to decisions, especially on matters which directly concern them. This makes education more effective and meaningful. That is why the Global Citizenship research group is examining how and to what extent students feel heard and seen within The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS). Amongst other things, the group is looking at factors which restrict or encourage the “student voice” so it can be strengthened within THUAS.
Mark: 6
An initial preliminary study by World Citizenship associate professor Carien Verhoeff shows that students at THUAS sufficiently appreciate the “student voice”, but they feel there is still (much) room for improvement. They give it a mark of 6. Students do feel welcome at THUAS, but not (always) heard. They feel a need for involvement — in their studies, the university of applied sciences, as well as the design and implementation of education and research.
Quick wins
The preliminary research provides some quick wins, such as feedback of evaluation results and making it clear how the student input will be used. For follow-up research, Carien wants to study how a collaborative leadership partnership at the class, curriculum and management level can strengthen the “student voice”. The research group is working together with other partners in the professional field and universities.
Contact
Carien Verhoeff
Laurence Guérin
Team
Carien Verhoeff
Laurence Guérin
Professor Global Citizenship
Carien Verhoeff
Contact:
Professor Global Citizenship
Laurence Guérin
Laurence Guérin gained her doctoral degree in citizenship education and the translation of a vision of citizenship into educational principles and learning resources. She is the project leader of Bèta Burgerschap (Citizenship science, a project of TechYourFuture) in which a new form of citizenship education has been developed based on her doctoral thesis. She is also a practical researcher for Citizenship at the ROC Twente, where she leads the Citizenship workshop (an NRO project). Her research group at The Hague University of Applied Sciences will focus on the further development of Global Citizenship, in particular its significance in vocational education. Her starting point is Global Citizenship as a controversial subject: different visions of global citizenship lead to different implementations in the curriculum, in the teaching methods and in the organisation.
Additional positions
- Practical researcher on Citizenship at ROC Twente
- Board member of the Rathenau Institute
l.j.f.guerin@hhs.nl