ABSTRACT
The idea that education reforms have a greater chance of success if students are involved is not new. However, ‘student voice’ is typically limited to surveys and focus groups, which may fail to account for the views and experiences of children and young people who do not have the resources to be easily seen and heard through these methods. This chapter utilises a study that explored 105 children’s experiences of Australia’s National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) to highlight the importance of employing methods that encourage the participation of a broad range of students. While no particular method is ‘better’ than another, drawings, one of multiple participatory visual research methods, may provide a rich entry point for engaging a diverse range of students in making meaningful contributions to education policy analysis. The significance of including students’ views in policy analysis is reinforced in the findings of the study, which challenge adult assumptions that because policies are designed in particular ways, students will necessarily experience them as intended.
