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This chapter aims to further conversations around child-centred practice by considering the potential role of pupil voice within education. It explores the impacts of creating space for authentic pupil consultation in my own primary classroom upon my understanding – as teacher-researcher – of my class' experiences of teaching and learning. It outlines my use of pupil views templates (PVTs) (Wall & Higgins, 2006) to gain insight into children's thoughts, feelings and spoken interactions, and how this informed my professional practice as an educator, in order to move beyond pupil consultation as mere ‘lip-service’, and towards developing more meaningful engagement based on an acknowledgement of children's perspectives, as well as their right to express these views freely in all matters pertaining to them (UNCRC, 1989). As such, this chapter provides an exemplar of the reflections that can be gained through using PVTs to ‘listen’ to children, and the impacts this had upon the co-construction of our classroom culture, with implications for pupils' metacognition, the role of educator as a metacognitive role model and ultimately for children's agency and control over their own learning. Whilst my own use of PVTs is situated within an education context, the description of the ways in which this approach can be used has relevance for professionals in other fields who wish to gain greater insight into children's perceptions and experiences.

Parental participation is important for strengthening and sustaining the concept of school health promotion but little is written on the processes involved. The purpose of this paper is to assess Irish parents’ and pupils’ views on how parents take part, or would like to take part, in school life.

The sample was recruited from nine primary schools, three Health Promoting Schools and six matched schools. Pupils aged nine to 13 years in the 4th, 5th and 6th class groups participated in the study. Parents of all participating pupils were also invited to take part in the study. Data were collected by self-completion questionnaire, comprising three closed and one open question.

A total of 218 parents and 231 pupils participated. There was general agreement between parents and pupils on parental participation in school. Overall 40.6 per cent of parents and 43.2 per cent of pupils reported that parents frequently take part in school activities. A majority of both parents (79.5 per cent) and pupils (83.6 per cent), agreed that parents were encouraged to talk about things that concern their child in school, while 73.5 per cent of parents and 65.6 per cent of pupils reported that they were made to feel a part of child's school. Qualitative data from parents and pupils suggested similar ways in which parents can best take part in school. Some respondents suggested how schools could engage with parents but most responses provided examples of how parents could act directly to take part in school life. These direct actions included doing, helping with, and watching school activities such as sports, tours, music and cake sales.

The findings illustrate the similarity of views of parents and pupils concerning parents’ participation in school life and suggest that children may have the potential to represent the voice of their parents in school when considering how to improve parental participation in schools.

Presents findings from a study which explored the views of school staff and pupils concerning the concept of school staff as health exemplars, one of the original WHO criteria for the Health Promoting School model. Six single sex focus groups were conducted with secondary school pupils and eight one‐to‐one interviews with teaching and non‐teaching staff. The data suggest that there is little support from staff or pupils for the view that staff should act as health exemplars. Pupils felt that even if staff were to practise healthy behaviours this would not encourage pupils to adopt the health behaviour in question, and indeed that staff were a group from whom they wished to differ. Pupils did however think that staff actions should be consistent with their words, that staff should not openly display negative health behaviour, and that staff should not engage in negative health behaviours that directly affected pupils, such as smoking near them. Both staff and pupils thought that staff could legitimately give health advice. Although not much concerned about staff behaviour in relation to physical health, pupils and staff felt strongly that staff should model good interpersonal behaviours, such as respect, calmness and rapport.

This paper aims to describe free school meals with respect to a plate model and to analyse how the meals were chosen by pupils at Finnish comprehensive schools.

The paper reviews the history of the Finnish school catering system and free school meals. It also briefly analyses theoretical approaches to school meals and introduces a plate model based on national nutritional recommendations. The empirical data were collected in 2003 by the second author of this paper. In total, 3,041 pupils returned the questionnaire from ten comprehensive schools. Data from the pupils' school meal choices were analysed using one‐way ANOVA and F‐tests.

The findings indicate that there were significant differences in the chosen school meals between boys and girls, between classes, and between schools. Thus, the plate model has not been followed when choosing the free school meals.

This paper has, for example, the following implication: school meals should not be considered with respect to food only, but should be viewed from a broader perspective, namely that of pupils' needs and wants.

School meals have previously been studied with multiple theoretical approaches. The authors believe that the broader focus on pupils and their socio‐ecological environment will further increase understanding of their food choices in Finland.

The purpose of this paper is to test nine hypotheses whether pupils follow a plate model when they choose their school meals at Finnish comprehensive schools.

The paper introduces nine theoretical cviews to school meals and a plate model. The empirical data were collected in 2007 from four comprehensive schools in Finland. The nine hypotheses utilizing data from 168 pupils’ self‐reported school meal choices are tested by using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient.

In total, six hypotheses are accepted and three are rejected. The findings indicate that the pupils partially follow the plate model when they choose their school meals.

This paper has the following implication. We have to further increase the pupils’ knowledge on school meals and its role to maintain good health and prevent health problems, as well as nutrition information related to food choices.

In the previous research school meals have been studied from multiple theoretical views. This paper suggests that a broader theoretical focus on the pupils will further increase understanding of their food choices.

In this study it was found that teachers' own views on pupil control predicted their pupil control behavior, while organizational pressures represented by teacher perceptions of the pupil control views of colleagues and the principal failed to do so. It was also found that teachers perceived their colleagues and the principal to hold more custodial pupil control views than were actually held. The explanation was advanced that teachers behave in relatively custodial ways in places of high visibility to colleagues, but behave more in line with their own views in the classroom.

This chapter explores the use of three different approaches to capturing other perspectives in lesson study: lesson artefacts, pupil voice and pupil participatory approaches. Lesson artefacts and pupil voice appear to be the more common, whereas pupil participatory approaches are more recent initiatives in a lesson study context. Observation of pupils provides one perspective, but is limited because, among other things, it does not include the pupils’ perspectives. These approaches, especially when used together in triangulation, can provide a broader and potentially deeper understanding of pupil learning.

Pupil autonomy, empowerment and clarity of school rules are factors underpied that the schools subscribed to different philosophies regarding pupil management. One school was largely authoritarian in its approach and the other was overly lenient. This paper emphasises the importance of furthering democratic principles of pupil participation within the context of clear rules and boundaries.

This paper aims to deal with the processes and experiences of teaching English as an additional language (AL). More specifically, it deals with the research question of which teaching methods are used when teaching English as AL and why.

It concerns a case study approach conducted in an English primary school situated in North Yorkshire, where bilingual pupils also participate. The research methods used include observations in the classroom and in the playground, interviews with the teachers and the bilingual pupils of the school, as well as analysis of policy school documentation related to the topic examined.

The picture revealed by this study suggests that a number of different approaches and teaching methods, which contribute to teaching English as an AL, are used. The results indicate that great importance is attributed to teacher-pupil and pupil-pupil interaction, as well as to the employment of specific teaching techniques such as key visuals, corrective feedback. In addition, certain types of questions are addressed to bilingual pupils depending on their current language proficiency level. Teachers seem to emphasise the significance of activating the prior knowledge of non-native speakers (NNS). Progression in the content of the activities set, motivation and differentiation are seen as important. The implementation of the aforementioned approaches and teaching methods are supported by the policy and organisation of the school, where the research study was conducted.

As stated in the National Curriculum and within the framework of inclusion, all pupils for whom English is not their first language have to be provided with opportunities to develop the English language, the acquisition of which will help them to have access and take part in all subject areas. The present study explores what certain teaching approaches and methods can provide NNS with equal opportunities to develop English as an AL and why.

Pupil control ideology, which is expressed in terms of a custodial‐humanistic continuum, refers to educators' views concerning the rights and status of the school's pupil clients. Pluralistic ignorance is defined as the shared misperception of an attitude, norm or belief held by members of a group. 480 respondents were asked to complete four identical forms of the PCI instrument—first, as they personally reacted to the 20 Likert items and then as they estimated the responses of the typical teacher, principal and counselor respectively. Findings revealed inter alia that teachers and principals attribute to each other a much greater custodial pupil control ideology than is reported by members of the respective groups.