Incorporating student voice in curriculum design to Foster high school students' motivation: Insights from social cognitive theory

Although student voice has attracted increasing scholarly attention, earlier research has already indicated that students' participation may enhance curriculum relevance, engagement, youth development, democratic learning and school improvement. Yet, how high school students experience curriculum‐level voice as a motivational process shaped through the reciprocal personal, environmental and behavioural dimensions of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) remains less clearly understood. For this reason, the present study examined how student voice in curriculum design might influence high school students' motivation from the perspective of SCT. Drawing upon a qualitative approach, 28 high school students completed reflective written forms describing their perceptions. The data were analysed phenomenographically to identify the major categories and themes. The findings suggested three main categories: personal factors, including increased self‐efficacy, ownership and alignment with personal goals; environmental factors, including supportive teacher‐student relationships, culturally responsive curriculum and institutional support; and behavioural factors, including active engagement, goal‐oriented effort and collaborative creativity. These findings indicate that student voice can create a participatory learning environment in which curriculum becomes more closely connected to students' experiences and goals. The study contributes to student voice literature by showing how curriculum participation becomes motivational when students' contributions are reflected in visible curricular decisions that support self‐efficacy, relational support, relevance and goal‐directed engagement. The study also implies that teachers and curriculum designers need to adopt participatory frameworks that involve students in decision‐making while preserving pedagogical guidance and curricular coherence.