Title: Participation in decision-making in school: opportunities and students' attitudes in Austria and Slovenia

Authors: Monika Mithans; Milena Ivanuš Grmek; Branka Čagran; Matjaž Mulej

Addresses: Faculty of Education, University of Maribor, Koroška c. 160, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia ' Faculty of Education, University of Maribor, Koroška c. 160, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia ' Faculty of Education, University of Maribor, Koroška c. 160, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia ' Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Razlagova ulica 14, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia

Abstract: The paper reports on the student inclusion in the school life management. The study comprised pupils aged 10-11, 13-14 and 16-17. 322 students attend school in Austria, and 458 students in Slovenia. The right to participation is among the four main principles exposed in the UNICEF's Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). However, a study that aimed to identify areas of school life where students already have the opportunity to participate in decision-making and areas of school life management/governance where they want more participation showed that pupils are still insufficiently aware of their right to participation in school. The results also indicate that, in spite of its proven advantages, legal basis and repeated demands for implementation of pupils' participation in the school are yet to become common practice.

Keywords: Austria; participation in decision-making; school life management and governance; Slovenia; desire for participation in decision-making; perception analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2017.086901

International Journal of Management in Education, 2017 Vol.11 No.4, pp.424 - 436

Received: 26 Aug 2016
Accepted: 30 Nov 2016

Published online: 02 Oct 2017 *

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