School councils Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

School councils - Essay Example "The youngsters involved also learn about society and citizenship as well as developing their personal skills. " (BBC News 2005) In a separate survey by BT and the charity Childline, only 47% of the children questioned said adults listened to what they said and acted on it. (Anderson 2004) Most adults agreed it was important to listen to children, but only 57% said this happened. The effectiveness of these School Councils is not as positive as some of the media would like for us to think. There has been recent research on the School Counsils and the results are similar to the ones revealed by Anderson (2000) The research suggested a school council could make a significant contribution to the life of a school and to young people's experience of democratic processes and practices. (BBC News 21005) Setting one up did not guarantee a positive outcome, though. "As with any other learning strategy, the context in which the council operates and its processes and practices need to be supported and kept under review in order to generate positive outcomes for students and for it to have an impact on the school," said the co-author of the study, Monica Taylor. (Daniels and Ivatts) there needed to be a school-wide culture of consultation, respect for the views of students and staff, participation - and the possibility of change.