Elected children's views on school elections and students councils in Greece

Abstract: The main aim of this paper is to highlight and investigate children’s perspectives on the ordinance of students’ elections and students’ councils in the country of Greece. This study is motivated by the huge lack of research on the topic in Greece and aim to seek student’s views in regards to students’ councils. This qualitative research endeavors to find how students decide to enter the school elections as candidates, what they hope to achieve through their candidacy and how they perceive democratization in education via these elections. Finally, it is asked from them to evaluate the utility of the whole ordinance of students’ communities. Six students, aged from 15 to 18, who are attending the Greek public High School (the name in Greek is Lykeio) were interviewed; three boys and three girls. The researcher chose one boy and one girl from each of the three years of High School. In order to hear children’s voice and allow them space and time to express their perceptions, semi-structured interviews were conducted with open ended questions while at the same time encouraging them to give clarifications on their answers. A thematic analysis was conducted on the transcribed material of the interviews and four primary themes were emerged: I) being candidates as a personal decision, II) aspirations for being candidates, III) Significance of the ordinance on school elections and on students’ councils and IV) democratization of children through school elections. In conclusion, this paper, by closely examining students’ perspectives and beliefs, seeks to shed new light on the neglected issue of students’ elections and councils in the country of Greece.