Student voice in educational change: Approaches to enhancing motivation within the classroom

Abstract Student voice (SV), referring to the concept and practices of involving students in educational decisions, has been gaining popularity due to its promising effects on student need satisfaction and academic motivation. Definitions of SV approaches, their variety, and the benefits that various approaches have for students' need satisfaction and learning motivation are crucial for effective practical implementation and future studies on SV. The present study explores whether SV approaches vary on the components of curriculum design about which students can and want to have a voice as well as examining the relationship between various approaches to need satisfaction and autonomous motivation. The relationship between not adapting approaches to students' wishes with need satisfaction and autonomous motivation has also been examined. Exploratory factor analysis revealed three distinctive approaches: content, evaluation, and lesson practicalities. Structural analysis substantiated the benefits that SV approaches may have for students' needs and motivation, with the strongest relationships shown between content‐based approaches and need satisfaction. Adverse relationships were found when approaches did not correspond with the students' wish for SV. SV approaches that strike a balance between listening to students' voices and challenging students to gradually gain more SV about content may prove to be the most advantageous for students' need satisfaction and learning motivation. Context and implications Rationale for this study: Student voice, referring to the concept and practices of involving students in educational decisions, has been gaining popularity in both research and practice in order to address students' progressively declining learning motivation. Why the new findings matter: Defining student voice approaches, their variety and associated benefits are crucial for effective practical implementation of them. Implications for practitioners, policy makers, and researchers: The findings of this study demonstrate that implementing student voice approaches within the classroom is an advantageous strategy for supporting satisfaction of students' basic psychological needs and autonomous motivation, with approaches related to content‐based curriculum components leading to the most benefits. When approaches did not correspond to students’ wishes for student voice, need frustration was a factor. Challenging students to gradually gain more student voice about content while listening to students' voices may prove to be most advantageous. We would encourage student voice initiatives, perhaps redundantly and self‐evidently, by listening to students' voices.