\u2018Voice\u2019, the paper suggests, \u201cimplies much more than just allowing learners to speak.\u201d It\u2019s \u201cassociated with notions of educational reform in the interests of students, and with concepts of student empowerment and agency.\u201d<\/p>\n

As it notes:<\/p>\n

\u201clearner voice advocates regard students as knowing participants in the educational process who should have a say in what and how they learn, and also in shaping the kind of institution in which they learn. The onus is then on teachers\/trainers and institutional staff, including managers, to recognize and respect the diversity of student backgrounds and cultures, and the great variety of knowledge that different students bring with them to educational contexts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, often, in fact usually, the level of student diversity is reduced to averages on survey responses and called \u2018learner feedback\u2019. But this should not really be the picture. Indeed, some of the most effective mechanisms for providing feedback include the use of student representatives, student committees, student liaison groups, student parliaments, student councils and student forums. However, in fact:<\/p>\n

\u201cStronger forms of engagement are required, such as the direct involvement of students in negotiating with their teachers and instructors to shape the curriculum, and an inquiring, relational disposition on the part of teachers who are prepared to engage with student on their (i.e. students\u2019) terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is what Guthrie and Waters found too; the student voice and \u2018the vibe\u2019 of the institution and its individual teaching units are really important. Regretfully, though, the older paper reports that informants pointed out that:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get a lot of feedback from students but it\u2019s not made use of in any shape or form, to my knowledge \u2026 No one analyses it. No one reports on it. It sits in those files never to be seen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drawing on the student voice is also about evaluating the quality of what goes on. It\u2019s evidence based and outcomes focused. And, as the paper notes:<\/p>\n

\u201cEvaluation does not only require you to gather and act on feedback. Rather, a critical part of the evaluation cycle is acknowledging the value of that feedback to students, so they can clearly see its significance as a means of improving teaching and learning outcomes. If students cannot see that their feedback is of value, what they contribute is more likely to be superficial, rushed or ill conceived. Closing the feedback loop in this way is essential to building the credibility of the evaluation process. This in turn is likely to improve the engagement of students in subsequent evaluation processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the message from this paper and more recent research is that we do not make enough use of the student voice or value it as much as we, perhaps, should.<\/p>\n