Guarantee anonymity, respond visibly within one week, avoid any punitive reactions.
100 responses were collected; common themes were lack of quiet study rooms and praise for supportive teachers. Students felt heard: “Finally we can say what we think without consequences.” Management immediately opened two extra study rooms and published a “You said – We did” board. Follow-up survey showed 18 % drop in “I feel unheard” agreement.
Step 1: decide with the students/teachers the issue to be investigated
Step 2: decide the questions to be asked
Step 3: place the cardboard box in the school hall/classroom
Step 4: provide the students paper and pens
Step 5: set the time
Step 6: focus that the activity is anonymous and that they can freely express themselves and clarify that they can also propose some positive suggestions
Step 7: decide with the students how to collect and evaluate the results.
Students participated actively and felt more involved in school life. Their motivation to improve the school environment increased.
The initiative strengthened the sense of belonging and involved the whole school community, including caretakers and parents. The students became more and more aware and engaged and appreciated having the opportunity to express their opinions freely and anonymously, feeling listened to and valued.
They realized that sharing ideas and communicating with teachers can lead to real changes in the school.
In the future, the activity could be introduced gradually, class by class, rather than involving the whole school from the beginning. The strategy is highly recommended because it promotes wellbeing, active participation, and dialogue among students, teachers, and families.
A yearly questionnaire concerning well-being is answered by all students. The results are viewed by the faculty to see what needs to be dealt with. This time 3 specific areas of concern were found: How satisfactory the working atmosphere is during lessons, areas in school that students don’t feel comfortable being in for example hallways, the opportunity to express one’s opinions. Then the student council representatives were engaged in the results and on how they could engage their classmates in working towards more positive results. They discussed and decided to bring the questions to their classes for discussion and suggestions on how to work towards the goals. The representatives wrote down the suggestions that were given, and then during a council meeting, they shared their different classes’ suggestions, with the goal to move forward towards solutions in the specific areas. A presentation on results will be given in every class. This work is still in progress.
Difficulties and challenges were for example getting the student council representatives to be feel committed to their assignment and the activity, the representatives getting responses from classmates, committed classmates and time to plan every step of the process and move forward. Students’s thoughts about the activity were for example that it was good because it improves the environment of the school, that everyone should feel safe to be active and that everyone gets to say their opinion.
