Innovative Governance Structures in Secondary Schools

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Abstract
This paper focuses on student power in six high schools with innovative governance structures. Following brief descriptions of these six schools, we examine structural aspects of their governance and find that a clear and comprehensive formal mechanism is most successful when supported by an open, active network of honest and respectful informal relationships. We also suggest that student power in governance is not possible without student power over classroom and instructional processes. Various barriers to effective student participation are discussed: students' prior socialization to depend on adult authorities; their lack of political skill training; teachers' abdication of their responsibilities to teach and guide; their premature hands-off policy vis-a-vis student behavior in governance functions; and the creation by adults of school structures and processes most comfortable for adults and thus easier to dominate. Finally, we suggest that planning, training, evaluating, and sharing data are vital aspects of an ongoing school program in which students and adults participate with power.

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