Chinook Student Leadership Council presents survey results at board meeting
Students had an opportunity to share their perspectives with trustees during a presentation by the Chinook Student Leadership Council (CSLC).
Members of the CSLC provided an update about their activities and the results of two student surveys during a regular Chinook Board of Education meeting, Feb. 12.
This is the second school year the CSLC is active and it consists of both new and returning members. It was established to implement a Chinook Board of Education goal to create opportunities for student feedback that can inform decision-making by trustees.
The current CSLC members are Grade 11 or 12 students from schools in Cabri, Eastend, Fox Valley, Maple Creek, Ponteix, Shaunavon, Swift Current (both Maverick School and Swift Current Comprehensive High School) and Val Marie. They are able to share the different perspectives from their schools through their involvement with the CSLC.
Grade 12 students Annika Roberge from Ponteix School and Bret Fahselt from Cabri School spoke to media after the group’s presentation at the Chinook Board of Education meeting. Both were hoping the information presented by the students will make a difference.
“I just hope that they took everything that we said seriously and that they can make school better for everybody,” Fahselt said.
The CSLC presentation included the responses from high school students to surveys about career counselling and learning styles. Roberge referred to her expectations for the survey findings on the different ways that students learn.
“So hopefully teachers are able to find more exercises to help get students more involved and able to focus better, and just be more engaged with the classroom so that the students themselves can take more out of school,” she said.
The CSLC will have another opportunity to share information when they make a presentation at the Chinook School Division’s spring forum for school community councils on March 20.
The CSLC looked at the results of last year’s student survey to determine the areas to focus on for this year’s survey.
“We took two of the most important topics that we felt from our survey last year,” Fahselt explained. “I just think that career counselling is definitely important, because we all got to have a career, and I think that everybody learns differently. So by making it easier for everyone to learn together, it’s probably pretty important.”
The CSLC members discussed the survey format and questions to be asked during one of their meetings. Thereafter they discussed the survey with their school principals and finalized the details. The high school students in their schools were then asked to complete the survey.
“I think it’s important that the students are able to truly say what they
are struggling with,” Roberge said. “So through the surveys, students were saying they were struggling or frustrated and hopefully we were able to find some ways to address some of those struggles.”
The survey was completed by 194 students from Grade 10-12 in the schools represented on the CSLC.
The questions about career counselling asked students if they have used a career counsellor, in what ways they would like a career counsellor to help them and how they made their career choices for the future.
The results indicate that most students have already decided on a career. Their choices were influenced by people who had on impact on their lives, whether at home, school or a workplace. Parents played a large part in these choices.
The survey therefore indicates that students do not really need help to decide on a career, but career counselling can assist them with information to pursue their choice of career, for example the high school classes they need to take, how to apply to post-secondary institutions and find scholarships, or how to get directly into the work field.
The CSLC presentation included recommendations and action steps on the provision of career counselling to students, for example more regular classroom appearances by a career counsellor throughout the year to talk about timely topics such as applications and scholarships.
The survey findings on learning styles and supports indicate the majority of students struggle at times to focus in class and most of them would like to have more opportunities to participate in hands-on learning experiences.
Students indicated in survey responses that brain and movement breaks, group projects and interactions, different chairs, stand up desks and the use of quiet fidget toys will help them to focus in class.
The CSLC presentation included an exercise to illustrate the benefits of a movement break. Board members were requested to stand up and participate in a ball throwing activity.
Fahselt and Roberge felt they have benefitted from the opportunity to participate in the CSLC and to meet with other members.
“It’s just good to start learning this at a young age that the problems aren’t going to fix themselves if no one asks the questions,” Fahselt said. “So I think it’s beneficial for students to ask other students the questions.”
Roberge said she gained a new and surprising perspective through these CSLC interactions with students from other schools.
“I found it interesting how all our schools are also so different,” she noted. “Even though we’re one school division, it’s interesting to hear everyone’s perspectives from larger schools or smaller schools, what we have access to and stuff like that. It was really interesting to meet the other members and to see how their school experiences were different.”