Listening to students’ voices is essential for promoting inclusive educational practices, strengthening teachers’ professional development, and improving teaching. Although this approach has been discussed for more than two decades, it remains underutilized in schools, often seen as inseparable from school inclusion. Despite the policies implemented by different countries to promote an adequate response to the growing diversity of students and the vast research on the subject, obstacles and difficulties persist among the different players in the educational process. Many teachers continue to express anxiety about teaching increasingly diverse classes (Black-Hawkins et al., 2022). Documents such as the No Child Left Behind Act (Public Law, 2002), Every Child Matters (DFES, 2003), or No More Failures: Ten Steps to Equity in Education (Field et al., 2007) highlight this growing need to strengthen the capacity of educational institutions to deal with diversity.

In the last decade, ‘student voice’ has emerged as one of the most powerful levers in promoting inclusive practices and responding to diversity (Ainscow & Messiou, 2018), challenging the school status quo. Students‘ opinions can be a catalyst for changing entrenched beliefs and teachers’ perspectives that tend to see problems as inherent in the students rather than in the organisation of the school and teaching and assessment methods (Ainscow & Messiou, 2018). Although this approach can cause some discomfort, as it involves questioning personal perspectives and understanding students' points of view (Messiou & Ainscow, 2015), overcoming these obstacles is essential to achieving effective and lasting changes in educational practices (Messiou et al., 2022).

The concept of ‘student voice’ refers to different individual opinions and encompasses a variety of educational experiences that promote student reflection, discussion, dialogue, and action in schools (Vitorino & Santos, 2020). This concept also includes actions and behaviours - attendance, expressing personal views, debating topics that are relevant to them, direct involvement in making decisions that affect their lives, the school, and its stakeholders, designing, implementing, and evaluating lessons (Messiou et al., 2024). It also involves their active participation in research into inclusive practices, lesson design, implementation, and evaluation (Messiou & Ainscow, 2020; Sandoval & Messiou, 2022; Vitorino & Santos, 2020).

Sandoval (2011) states that listening to students' voices is much more than offering them an opportunity to express their ideas or opinions. It's about being aware of the significant role that these perspectives can play in educational change and empowering students to take on that role. It is necessary to find other ways of involving them, such as co-designing activities/lessons, choosing learning content, organising the classroom, holding group or individual dialogues at the end of each lesson, using more creative and visual methods with younger students, among others (Messiou & Ainscow, 2015; Messiou et al., 2024; Shaw et al., 2021; Skerritt et al., 2023).

The approach of active listening to students' voices can be implemented with students of any age, including younger students who are equally capable of expressing their views (Messiou & Lowe, 2023).

In this context, this study aims to understand the importance of students' voices for inclusion and the promotion of inclusive practices in the primary school age group, a group that is underrepresented in the literature (Messiou & Lowe, 2023). This study, through an Integrative Literature Review (ILR), analyses scientific articles accessible in the ERIC and b-on databases, and other cited sources, published in the last five years, to understand the importance of a student-centered approach in which their voices are heard and considered.

Inseparable from this objective is the identification of the challenges faced by schools and teachers in incorporating this approach.

This study is based on an ILR, a method suitable for mapping existing knowledge and identifying gaps in complex educational issues. The research questions were: What is the significance of a student-centered approach, in which students’ voices are heard and considered, for promoting successful inclusion processes in Basic Education and for fostering more inclusive pedagogical practices? The study also seeks to identify the challenges faced by schools and teachers in incorporating this approach. This RIL followed the PRISMA guidelines (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) to ensure methodological rigour and transparency (Page et al., 2022). This structured and detailed approach guides the review process through four basic phases: Identification, Selection, Eligibility, and Inclusion (Galvão et al., 2015). In the identification phase, we searched the ERIC and b-on databases to identify potential research on student voice. We focused on analysing articles that detailed their research, methodology, and results. Regarding this topic, we used a combination of keywords and search terms: Diversity, student voice, student views, inclusion, inclusive education, and learner diversity. The following filters were applied: - In ERIC, the filters were: academic articles from the last 5 years (2020-24), peer-reviewed; descriptors: Inclusion, which resulted in a set of eight documents. - In b-on, we applied: expanders (full text of articles; apply equivalent subjects); limiters (peer-reviewed; publication date: 2020-2024; full text); subject (student voice; students; student participation; inclusive education; inclusion; children; primary schools; schools; student engagement), selecting thirteen articles. In the Selection stage, we analysed the titles and abstracts of the identified studies to assess their eligibility based on the inclusion criteria. Six articles were excluded, and fifteen were selected for full reading. Of these, ten were retrieved through the database search, while five were identified through citation tracking and included from the outset due to their recognised relevance to the research topic. In the Eligibility phase, all fifteen selected articles were read in full and subjected to a rigorous assessment to verify compliance with the predefined inclusion criteria. Papers that did not meet the established criteria were excluded. In the final phase, nine articles were retained and included in the ILR. Ethical considerations were fully respected, as all studies analysed were publicly available and open access. Data were analysed using the webQDA software, through a qualitative thematic analysis approach, which allowed the identification of emergent categories and subcategories from the selected articles (Costa & Amado, 2018; Gonçalves et al., 2022).

The data show that active listening to students' voices significantly contributes to the development of more inclusive pedagogical practices. This approach enhances students' autonomy, critical thinking, social competencies, and engagement in the learning process. Several challenges were identified, such as institutional resistance, entrenched pedagogical beliefs, and time constraints, all of which may hinder the effective integration of student voice practices in schools. However, prioritizing student voice presents significant opportunities, contributing to the realization of children's rights and fostering more democratic and cohesive educational communities. This study reinforces the importance of actively listening to students as a means of creating inclusive and effective learning environments. Despite the challenges associated with implementation, the benefits to student inclusion and teacher professional development are significant. Valuing student voice serves as a catalyst for the development of collaborative and democratic school cultures, supports students’ holistic development, and enhances pedagogical practice. Successful implementation relies on continuous professional development. Students also need support in developing core skills - such as collaboration, communication, and responsible participation - so that their voices are not only heard but also valued. Persistent challenges include held beliefs about teaching and learning, time constraints, and incompatibility with curricula structures. This study has some limitations, including its timeframe and focus on open-access articles. Future research should explore innovative strategies for integrating student voice into classroom practices and assess long-term impact on student development, inclusion, pedagogical innovation, and teacher professional development. The ILR highlights the contribution of students' voices to the development of crucial skills – including autonomy, critical thinking, teamwork, communication, and interpersonal relationships - and teacher professional development, inclusive practices, democratic schools, and cohesive communities. Despite these benefits, implementing this approach faces challenges, including ingrained beliefs, the redefinition of teacher and student roles, the need for professional training, and the careful monitoring of student participation processes.

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