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

• Published in: Netla
• Main Author: Óskarsdóttir, Gerður G.
• Other Authors: Rannsóknarsjóður Háskóla Íslands, Justice Through Education in the Nordic Countries, NordForsk, Hagþenki
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands 2020
• Subjects: initiative; creativity; teaching and learning; initiative-classification scale; upper secondary school; frumkvæði; sköpun; kennsluhættir; frumkvæðiskvarði; framhaldsskóli; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/netla/article/view/3070; https://doi.org/10.24270/serritnetla.2019.6

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 ...