Student initiative: Dropping in on classrooms in nine upper secondary schools

Abstract

This paper investigates student initiative, a competence highlighted in the laws (2008) and curriculum guide (2011) for upper secondary schools in Iceland. This emphasis is rooted in the educational discourse, for over a century, on the importance of students having a say in the education provided them, instead of being only inactive receivers of knowledge or followers of directions. In this discussion, the terms influence, activity, autonomy and empowerment are often cited, as well as initiative and creativity. The emphasis on initiative and creativity for the world of work and daily life is constantly reiterated nowadays, for example concerning technological development, innovation in the days of the fourth industrial revolution and key competences for the 21st century (see for example: European Commission, 2006, 2016). From this we could conclude that an important aim of education is to foster students’ initiative. However, research indicates that teacher-centered methods are a firmly established approach in the classroom, thus providing limited space for student initiative and creativity.

Within the context of democracy in educational practices, grounded in Dewey’s thinking, the aim of this paper is to cast light on upper secondary school student opportunities for initiative in their learning activities, including discussions, individual tasks and group work; more specifically, the scope and unfolding of these.

The following definition was put forward as a norm for the analysis of data: Students exercise initiative in completing their assignments when they put their own stamp on their work, including the procedure and progress of learning, for example by expressing their ideas in writing or orally, or solving academic or vocational problems, individually or in groups, with no pre-existing solution.

This study is part of a larger research project: Teaching and Learning in Icelandic Upper Secondary Schools (students aged 16 to 19), aimed at obtaining a holistic view of the Icelandic upper secondary school (see Gerdur G. Oskarsdottir et al., 2018). The study was based on classroom observations of varied length in 130 academic and vocational classrooms (a total of 167 hours) in nine upper secondary schools, selected as a stratified sample from a total of 31. In addition, interviews with 17 student focus groups were analyzed, including 56 volunteers, 18 years or older. Data collection was in the hands of 15 researchers.

To analyze student initiative, a three step initiative-classification scale was applied (Gerdur G. Oskarsdottir, 2012). The first step indicates inactive receiving of knowledge, following directions or solving one-solution tasks. The second provides for some initiative and opportunity for choosing among several existing solutions. The last one signifies self-direction and the opportunity to exercise initiative and be creative in solving problems with no pre-existing solution, thus including the competence of creativity. The classification scale was applied to each of three categories of teaching approaches: whole class instruction, individual work, and group work. The proportion of time students worked on each step was estimated from the observation records, and their tasks on each step codified accordingly.

The findings indicate that around half of the classroom observation time, as measured in minutes, was classified as the first step on the initiative-classification scale, especially in the category of whole class instruction (75% of that category). Around a fourth of the observation time was assigned to the second step, largely distributed between individual work and group work. Approximately 20% of the time was codified as the third step, with creativity in action, especially in group work (close to 50% in that category). The interviews reflected these findings. The students did not see themselves as exercising a significant level of initiative, in some cases, not even considering it as an option.

These findings, including the low proportion of time analyzed for the third step, indicate the significance of Dewey’s thinking for 21st century education. Realization of his ideas has a long way to go. The purpose of the study was, indeed, to create a norm that teachers and school leaders could apply in their reflection on teaching practices and school development.