ABSTRACT
This chapter1 deals with the theme of the democratisation of educational organisations through the lens of student engagement from a ‘critical practice’ (Vibert, Portelli, Shields and LaRocque 2002) perspective. A centrepiece of the discussion will be the place of student voice in the democratisation of schooling. Discussion will move beyond what McMahon and Portelli label ‘popular discourses of student engagement’ (2004: 59), especially around some current infatuations with ‘student voice,’ towards a more robust politicised and democratised view of schooling. As well as drawing from the Canadian work of Vibert, Portelli, Shields, LaRocque and McMahon on Emily Carr Elementary School, the chapter also discusses an Australian school I investigated called Plainsville School (Smyth and McInerney 2007a; 2007b).
