„Ég held að þetta hafi gefið okkur hugrekki til að láta í okkur heyra“: Um frumkvæði nokkurra ungmenna að breytingum á námskrá og menntun í grunnskóla

The aim of this study is to shed light on how a few 15-year-old students called for changes in the National Curriculum for Compulsory Schools in Iceland which they found obsolete to some extent. The objective, furthermore, is to analyse the impact of their proposals on their peers, their school, the municipality where the school is located and on government policy making. By examining the students’ initiative, the research seeks to understand whether anyone listens to students’ views, actions, and activities and whether their opinions can lead to changes in the content of learning and teaching. The research questions asked what made a few young students in a compulsory school in Iceland call for changes to the National Curriculum Guide for Compulsory Schools and what the effect of their call for change was. Students’ voices and their influence have attracted researchers’ attention in recent years, as young people have become increasingly involved in the public arena. The theoretical framework is based on theories and studies on children’s social activism, the “Greta Thunberg Effect” and on children’s voices, and agency in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The study also reflects on the impact of the students’ initiative and the adultism that surfaces when children want to take matters in their own hands, on the pretext of knowing better and protecting them.

The research is based on available information about the initiative of the students, the association Our Education System, formed by the students and media coverage of its proposals and actions. Further sources are a group interview with the students that formed the board of the association, and interviews with the school administrator and the department head of education at Hafnarfjarðarbær, where the compulsory school the students attended is located. A question-frame and research emphases were prepared with the aim of the study in mind. Permits were obtained from the participants and the parents of the students. According to the results, the students found that the initiative to form the association, compile the proposals and present them, had given them more courage to make themselves heard and increased their self-confidence. A great deal of learning had taken place and the students involved had, among other things, learned to seek information, form an opinion and to present their case in a matter-of-fact manner. The initiative was well received by most parties concerned and the students attracted a good deal of press coverage; they met with the school and municipal authorities, the, the prime minister and the minister of education in Iceland. Everyone who spoke to the students considered it important to transfer their recommendations directly into the policy discussion that would now take place concerning the upcoming new education policy of the state and in the city of Hafnarfjörður as well. But even though many people showed interest in their initiative and called for advice, the students were not sure that their actions would lead to change. It is interesting to note that the proposals were also met with negativity both from young people on social media, and from some teachers in the school who called the students involved to a meeting where the curricula were discussed and pointed out which subjects fall under them. The results show that students in compulsory schools can and have taken social action in affairs that they feel adults are not addressing. This can increase adults’ understanding of students’ views towards daily life and what is important to them. Besides, teachers can learn from students, something which may well initiate change through proposals and actions and create good role models for others in social activism