Student participation and school democracy: a theoretical–conceptual contribution from practice in five secondary schools in Spain

The importance of incorporating student participation in school life as a fundamental pillar of education for democratic citizenship has been emphasised in academic literature and political agendas in recent decades. However, further research is required to better understand and analyse young people’s experience of democracy in schools. Adopting a qualitative approach, this study aims to enrich and develop the theoretical model of school democracy (i.e. governance, coexistence, alterity and ethos) in greater depth, with a focus on student participation. To this end, a multiple case study was designed, incorporating the perspectives of 15- to 16-year-old students (n = 32), teachers (n = 21) and management teams (n = 8) from five secondary schools in Spain. Throughout the thematic analysis process, the results are presented according to their theoretical and conceptual relevance. This enables the identification of facilitators and barriers to student participation in schools in relation to the concept of school democracy, including structural, relational, cultural, ethical, and pedagogical aspects. Additionally, some questions were posed to contribute to the debate about the meaning, forms and limits of school democracy.