Chapter 4: Insiders versus Outsiders: Examining Variability in Student Voice Initiatives and Their Consequences for School Change

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a typology for understanding the range of student voice initiatives in the United States. The chapter examines the relationship between the locus of change strategy (inside vs. outside schools). We use the term outsider to refer to social organizing efforts for school reform based in community or intermediary organizations outside of schools. In contrast, insider student voice efforts work within school auspices, often as a school class or a club. We layer this spectrum with a second spectrum focusing on the focus of change, ranging from a focus on individual youth leadership to social activism strategies. This typology can help practitioners and activists to articulate their own goals/intended outcomes and processes. It can also help researchers to articulate the meaning of the student voice research they are exploring in more specific terms.