‘The opportunity to change things is available to all those who care about lifelong learning, equal access, and opening academia to new light, new processes, and new ideas. These are the challenges of teaching for the new century.’ (Hanna, 2002a: 31)

This paper is part of the research project The voice of students as the root of teacher training (PPRO-HUM619-G-2023), funded by the University of Malaga. Despite numerous studies aimed at improving initial teacher training, there is little research that places the voice of university students at the centre of reflection and the production of pedagogical knowledge. This project is based on the premise that students should not be considered solely as recipients of training, but as active subjects capable of critically interpreting their experiences and contributing significantly to the construction of knowledge (Leite, Márquez, Calvo, Fernández, 2020).

For fifteen years, the PROCIE research group has developed training proposals aimed at broadening the scope of student participation, with a particular emphasis on volunteering in educational centres as a space for experiential learning. Within the framework of this project, the focus is on the narratives that students construct around their experiences in the university classroom, understood as opportunities for the development of a reflective, critical and committed approach to teaching (Leite et al, 2024).

Teacher training in the 21st century faces multiple challenges arising from social, cultural and educational changes, as well as from the tensions between traditional teaching models and more democratic and participatory approaches. In this context, it is necessary to rethink fundamental questions: how is university teacher training conceived? What kind of autonomy and responsibility is promoted in students? How do previous school experiences influence the construction of professional teaching identity? And how can they be recovered and deconstructed within the university space?

The concept of student voice adopted in this research transcends merely consultative or instrumental approaches. Following Fielding (2011), it is understood as a dialogical, relational, and ethical process that requires genuine openness and conscious reciprocity among participants. From this perspective, the voice of students is not limited to the expression of opinions, but implies recognition of their complexity, their capacity for agency, and their transformative potential. We also highlight bell hooks' (2021) project ‘dialogue with critical pedagogy’, which points out how many university students have been socialised in educational models that penalise active participation and critical thinking, favouring passive positions towards knowledge.

The contributions of Susinos and Ceballos (2012) reinforce the idea that student participation must permeate both the curriculum and the spaces of management and decision-making, understanding shared deliberation as an educational and democratic commitment. From this theoretical framework, the research seeks to highlight how the creation of narrative and dialogical spaces favours processes of re-signification of the educational experience and contributes to the construction of more reflective teaching identities. Along the same lines, Rudduck and Flutter (2007), Ceballos and Susinos (2014), and Saiz-Linares, Ceballos-López, and Susinos-Rada (2019) highlight the importance of student participation in processes of organisational change and curricular structures in institutions. Students are essential if we want to understand the environments and the people who inhabit them (Kincheloe, 2007) in order to build democratic and inclusive spaces.

The research adopts a qualitative interpretative approach, based on narrative research as the main methodological strategy. This approach allows access to the meanings that students attribute to their educational experiences, recognising the epistemological value of their individual and collective narratives. The narratives are constructed from and with students in primary education, pedagogy and social education, based on their voluntary participation in various activities related to the subjects, the centre's activities and the project. Information production techniques include dialogue seminars, assemblies, educational discussions, performances, discussion groups and group interviews, as well as the creation of written, visual and physical narratives. These spaces have been designed with the aim of encouraging shared reflection and the expression of school, academic, institutional and relational experiences. The analysis process is conducted inductively and collaboratively. In the first phase, a comprehensive reading of the narratives is carried out to identify recurring themes and significant elements. Subsequently, thematic coding is carried out to recognise core meanings related to teacher training, participation, professional identity and previous educational experiences. This analysis makes it possible to highlight tensions, continuities and processes of transformation present in the students' discourses. Likewise, special attention is paid to the questions that arise in relation to hegemonic educational models and the students' assessments of other ways of teaching at university. The systematisation of the narratives is conceived as a reflective process that not only produces knowledge but also generates critical awareness in those who participate. In a second phase of the project, the results will be discussed with university lecturers, educational leaders and professionals working at different levels of education, with the aim of broadening collective reflection and promoting processes of institutional transfer and transformation.

The creation of narrative spaces is a key element in promoting processes of awareness of educational trajectories and reframing previous school experiences. Listening to students is not only a methodological strategy, but also an ethical and political decision that challenges ways of understanding education. One student summarises these conclusions for us: I started on day XXX, where we mainly watched a video by Chimamanda Adichie about the danger of a single story. This video led me to reflect on what stories are told and, more importantly, why they are told. I realised that the predominant narratives are often shaped by those who have the power to tell them ... creating a false sense of knowledge. ... listening is truly a political act ... there is no lack of information, but rather a lack of analytical capacity. This reflection had an impact on my daily life, ... examining the stories that I myself have accepted without question ... how I can contribute to a more inclusive and fair narrative, ... (Social Education Degree student) The project is currently in the initial phase of narrative analysis. Initial findings show that students question traditional forms of university teaching and value others based on participation, pedagogical coherence and educational commitment. Preliminary conclusions highlight the relevance of the student voice as a basis for rethinking teacher training. The narratives analysed show how students are beginning to question traditional teaching practices and value training experiences based on participation, dialogue and critical reflection. Finally, the study highlights the importance of integrating student participation as a cross-cutting theme in university training, both in the curriculum and in deliberation and decision-making processes.

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