We present a research study funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitive of Spain (BES-2012-059084) that was carried out during 4 years (2012-2015) in Cantabria (Spain). The purpose of the research is to analyse how to broaden the student’s right to participate in school life through the design, development and assessment of five student voice experiences in infant and primary schools in Cantabria, Spain.

As it has been stated, these initiatives seek to encourage shared reflection, dialogue and action between members of the educational community (Thomson, 2007; Rudduck and Flutter, 2007; Fielding, 2011; Susinos, Haya and Ceballos, 2015). This implies a cultural transformation "that opens up spaces and minds not only to the sound but also to the presence and power of students"(Cook-Sather, 2006: 363).

We seek to reflect on how power is distributed in schools, who possesses it and how it is used (“the acoustics of the school”). What is proposed here is to begin a process of transformation of power relations (Arnot and Reay, 2007), traditionally hierarchical in schools and to develop a more horizontal distribution of power in which students are listened to and their proposals are taken into account.

In short, we claim the right of students to participate in making decisions on relevant areas of school life and their learning processes (Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989; Hart, 1992; Rudduck and Flutter, 2007; Thomson, 2007). Recognizing students as political subjects implies overcoming visions of childhood, which move away from the ideology of immaturity towards forms of greater recognition and empowerment, as Kincheloe (2007) stated. Students should be considered expert witnesses of school life (Dahlberg, Moss and Pence, 1999; Rudduck and Flutter, 2007) and agents with an  “authorized voice”, with the ability to interpret meanings with teachers, plan action and provide solutions.

Finally, the research study is based on inclusive education principles. It involves the design of experiences where students have presence, participation and achievement (in terms of receiving a reply) in essential areas of school life. The improvement proposals should guarantee that all students, without exception, find the means and formats which allow them to take part in educational improvement processes (Fielding, 2011).

Furthermore, inclusion as a principle implies admitting that students are not a homogeneous group, with one unique voice. On the contrary, student voice should be understood as provisional, multiple and in constant development (Arnot and Reay, 2007). For this, we should offer students different alternatives for expressing themselves on the same subject, for example: written techniques, oral techniques, visual or audio-visual techniques, dramatic expression and techniques supported by new technologies. It is in the process of dialogue with all student (Lodge, 2005) and in the intergenerational learning opportunities when the school culture is reconstructed in order to obtain a higher level of democracy and inclusion.  

Under this conceptual framework, we propose the following research questions:

• How can we broaden student voice in infant and primary school from the recognition of children’s rights?
• What processes, phases and strategies of consultations, deliberation and decision-making allow us to listen to all voices?
• What role is experienced by students, teachers, SEN teachers, headteacher and school counselors in the participation process? 

Arnot, M. and Reay, D. (2007). A Sociology of Pedagogic Voice: Power, inequality and pupil consultation. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 28(3). 311-325. Byrne, A., Canavan, J. and Millar, M. (2009). Participatory Research and the Voice-Centred Relational Method of Data Analysis: Is It Worth It? International Journal of Social Research Methodology 12 (1). 67–77. UNICEF (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child. Cancian, F. (1989). Participatory Research and Working Women: Democratizing the production of knowledge. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, September, San Francisco. Cook-Sather, A. (2006). Sound, Presence, and Power: "Student Voice" in Educational Research and Reform. Revista Curriculum Inquiry, 36 (4). 359-390. Fielding, M. (2011): La voz del alumnado y la inclusión educativa: una aproximación democrática radical para el aprendizaje intergeneracional. Revista Interuniversitaria de Formación del Profesorado, 70 (25,1). 31-61. Fontana A. and Frey, J. H. (1994). Interviewing: The Art of Science. En Denzing, N.K., Lincoln, Y.S. (eds). Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Flick, U. (2004). Introducción a la investigación cualitativa. Madrid:Morata. Hart, R. (1992). Children’s participation. From tokenism to citizenship. Italia:UNICEF. Kincheloe, J. L. (2007). Clarifying the purpose of engaging students as researchers. En Thiessen, D & Cook-Shater, A. (2007). International handbook of student experience in elementary and secondary school. (pp 745-774). Netherlands:Springer. Kvale, S. (2011). Las entrevistas en investigación cualitativa. Madrid: Morata. Lodge, C. (2005). From hearing voices to engaging in dialogue: problematising student participation in school improvement. Journal of Educational Change, 6. 125-146. Nind, M. (2014). What is Inclusive Research?. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Rudduck, J. and Flutter, J. (2007). Cómo mejorar tu centro escolar dando la voz al alumnado. Madrid: Morata. Seale, J., Nind, M., Tilley , L. and Chapman R. (2015). Negotiating a third space for participatory research with people with learning disabilities: an examination of boundaries and spatial practices. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 28:4. 483-49. Susinos, T., Haya, I. and Ceballos, N. (2015). The power of student participation for promoting inclusive school ethos. A Spanish experience. In Gemma C. y Grion V. (Eds.). Student Voice. Pratiche di partecipazione degli studenti e nuove implicazioni educative. (pp 131-144).Barletta: Cafagna. Thomson, P. (2007). Making it real: engaging students in active citizenship projects. En Thiessen, D & Cook-Shater, A. (2007). International handbook of student experience in elementary and secondary school. (pp 775-804).Netherlands:Springer.