Unleashing Children’s Voices in New Democratic Primary Education

James Biddulph · Luke Rolls · Julia Flutter

Sep 2022 · Taylor & Francis

About this ebook

As the world begins to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and grapples to find ways to respond to climate change, there is growing recognition of the need to give space and time in primary schools to hear children’s experiences, ideas and perspectives on these matters and to promote their active participation in democratic solutions. This book presents vibrant examples from professional educators and researchers across the globe who are demonstrating how primary schools can nurture the conditions for new democratic education through empowering educators’ and children’s voices and agency.

Written as a genuine partnership between research experts and experienced classroom teachers, the book delves into historic and contemporary theories and evidence about the children’s voices movement, and new democratic education, helping to root teachers’ practices to strong educational theoretical concepts. The second section presents a set of diverse and detailed examples drawn from primary classrooms and schools that illustrate how these ideas are taking shape in teaching and learning across the world; chapters will bring to life the principles upon which schools have empowered young voices, sharing examples of success and thriving students. Finally, a set of thought-provoking manifestos will offer new opportunities and fresh theories for educators to explore, with the purpose and intention to take forward in their own primary school contexts.

This is a vital resource for any new or experienced teacher or school leader looking to take research-informed and principled approaches to changes in schools so that teaching and learning ignites the social imagination for 21st-century educators and learners.

About the author

James Biddulph is the Executive Headteacher of the University of Cambridge Primary School. He completed his PhD at Cambridge University. He was the inaugural Headteacher of Avanti Court Primary in East London. He completed two Master's, one in Music and one in Educational Research during this time. Early on in his career, he was awarded Outstanding New Teacher of the Year and gained Advanced Skills Teacher status. He has lived and worked in Nepal and India.

Luke Rolls is the Associate Headteacher at the University of Cambridge Primary School. Luke is a successful primary educator with a Master's degree in Teaching and a postgraduate degree in primary mathematics. His main area of interest is in developing curriculum, pedagogy and assessment through high-quality professional development as an entitlement for all teachers.

Julia Flutter worked in education research for three decades at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, where she has focused on collaborative approaches for improving classroom teaching. She was a director of the Cambridge Primary Review Trust, a not-for-profit organisation promoting excellence in primary education, and an Associate Editor for the internationally respected Cambridge Journal of Education. She was a contributing author and sub-editor to the Cambridge Primary Review final report, Children, Their World, Their Education (edited by Professor Robin Alexander and published by Routledge, 2010).