Lesson 2

Let us accompany Torben to class. His teacher has prepared a project lesson.

Forms of Participation Among Young People

In view of the transformation in our society towards more sustainable development, it is important to let children and young people participate in shaping the future. By allowing them to contribute to the discussions, conceptions and decisions they gain valuable experience as future decision-makers in our society.

Participation can take many forms, for example:

• In class (e.g. projects, student representatives)
• At school (e.g. co-design of the schoolyard, organisation of school events, open days)
• Online participation (e.g. forums, youth eParticipation)
• Youth conferences (e.g. Youth BarCamps, youth parliament, youth speaker council)
• Protests (Carrotmob, flashmobs, street theatre, co-design of the surroundings, chalk protests)

The intensity of the actual co-determination of children and young people depends on how many decisions are left to the learners and how much they are trusted. When planning lessons involving pupil participation, it is therefore worth taking a critical look at the "ladder of participation" by Roger Hart (1997) in order to grade different participation intensities.