Student Councils – Forums for Democracy or Disappointment? A Test of Concepts

This article aims to improve the conceptual understanding of student council practices. Student councils are well-established institutions for student influence in many countries, but we lack analytical tools to study their democracy-enhancing potential. Student councils are justified normatively and pedagogically to ensure students’ citizenship in the present and prepare them for future citizenship. Based on democratic theory, different concepts are tested by applying two distinct survey data sets with student responses from Sweden. The results emphasize the difference between thin and thick democracy, account for student expectations through acknowledging satisfaction and disappointment, and relate these dimensions to normative and pedagogical purposes. This study finds, in line with previous research, that students are largely dissatisfied with the functioning of their student councils. By carefully considering the dimensions and aspects that student councils can offer, schools can be better equipped to enhance their function. The conceptual problematization in this article could be of both theoretical and practical use to increase the potential of student councils as an important forum for educating future citizens.