"Youth and students need to be trusted to play a leading role in education decision-making." I've always thought this to be obvious, but it's the first sentence in this just-released UNESCO report (63 page PDF). "Too often, youth participation remains symbolic, with no clear structures to ensure accountability or influence. We need institutionalized and mandated pathways for meaningful youth participation in policymaking and decision-making processes, grounded in clear principles and sustained over time." They're speaking at the institutional level (it is, after all, UNESCO) but I think this applies even at the individual level, where people are making their own decisions about their own education. Even more to the point, though, as the report states, involving youth needs to mean more than consultation; the options offered by youth need to actually be implemented.
Today: Total: [Direct link] [Share]
