Identity formation and the meaning of youth participation in democratic spaces
Subtitle: the case of student trustees
By: by Donna F. koller.
Published: 2004
Language: eng
Number of pages: 278
Subjects: Student participation in administration -- Ontario; School boards -- Ontario.; Identity (Psychology)
Description: Youth participation is on the rise with young people engaged in a range of activities aimed at improving their communities. Despite increased opportunities for youth involvement, few studies address the meaning of youth participation from the perspectives of the participants. This study offers the first comprehensive analysis of the student trustee role, a new form of youth participation within the education system. Student trustees represent their fellow high school students at the school board level. Although representation implies a form of democratic practice, student trustees are not allowed to vote at the board table and are often not elected by their peers. The main purpose of this study was to examine the perspectives of student trustees, to ascertain what was meaningful to them about their participation and to determine whether they experienced developmental change. A mixed method design included qualitative interviews with sixteen participants, field observations and quantitative questionnaires administered to 39 outgoing and 22 incoming student trustees. Bronfenbrenner's ecological model provided the main conceptual framework while theories of participatory democracy and social reproduction illuminated areas of personal transformation through democratic engagement and the effects of social class and political power. Through an integration of these theories, a comprehensive framework emerged that could address the many facets of student trustee involvement. Data analyses generated a developmental theme  consisting of two models. The first model cites a developmental trajectory and identifies factors involved in fostering student participation. The most prominent factors included socio-economic status, early involvement in school governance and the significance of supportive adults. The second model presents evidence of developmental changes associated with  transformative learning in political participation. This model elucidates important changes in participants' attitudes and behaviours, which in part, elicited identity formation processes. Changes were noted in participants' orientation toward future goals, an increased self-awareness, and a more expansive worldview. For this reason, participants' perceptions reflected a  transcendent quality or outward looking process. Finally, the study provides a critique of the student trustee role and offers recommendations for enhancing youth participation in this democratic space such as improving representation mechanisms and ensuring more inclusive decision-making processes.
Notes: Adviser:  Daniel Schugurensky.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2004.

Includes bibliographical references.

Electronic version licensed for access by U. of T. users.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 65-10, Section: B, page: 5437.