Insights from workshop will shape new report on student councils

The Nordic Youth Disability Summit took place in October in Malmö. During the summit a range of workshops were held, one by Merethe Løberg from the Nordic Welfare Centre on the upcoming project Nordic co-operation on children growing up in families with persistently low income . 

Clara Sommarin, also from the Nordic Welfare Centre, held one workshop about the newly started project Nordic cooperation on a safer digital democracy for children and youth, where the youth gave insights and their opinion on the subject.  

Upcoming report on student councils 

The Nordic Welfare Centre is launching a comprehensive study on student councils across the Nordic region, to be published in May 2025.
Led by researchers Dr Ragný Þóra Guðjohnsen and Eva Harðardóttir from the University of Iceland’s Faculty of Education and Diversity, the report will examine how student participation and democracy can be strengthened in schools, drawing on lessons learnt during the Covid-19 pandemic when young people’s voices were often overlooked in decision-making processes.  

Through mapping current research, national regulations, and promising practices, the study aims to provide valuable insights into how student councils can be better implemented to promote children’s right to be heard and involved through the use of students’ councils in the school system, to promote a better learning environment, citizenship and democracy.

Findings show that existing structures for youth participation were underutilised during the pandemic, highlighting the need for more robust systems of student representation in both regular times and during crises. 

Barriers to participation  

As part of the ongoing research for the report one session during the Nordic Youth Disability Summit brought together the researchers with the youth representatives to discuss the role of student councils and the challenges students with disabilities face on getting their issues lifted by the councils and gaining representation. The findings from this workshop will help the researchers form the questions in their forthcoming report. 

One of the central themes discussed during the workshop was the isolation that many students with disabilities feel, both socially and in terms of participation.  

–  In high school, I think quotas are necessary for disability inclusion. In Norway, 40 percent of persons with disabilities say they haven’t connected with anyone their age for a long time, said Ingrid Thunem from The Norwegian Association of Youth with Disabilities (Unge Funksjonshemmede).  

 The lack of representation and accessibility in schools has created an environment where many feel excluded from the very spaces where social connections and leadership opportunities are fostered. 

Not being included behind the dumpster 

Participants shared how inaccessible spaces, such as stairwells and behind dumpsters, often become social hubs, leaving those with physical disabilities out of important informal discussions.  

–  If you have an assistant who’s maybe 50 years old, you’re not included in the behind-the-dumpster discussions, one participant noted.  

This reflects the broader issue of social exclusion, which is a barrier preventing students with disabilities from forming the connections necessary to gain influence within student councils. 

Lack of safe spaces 

The workshop brought forward a range of personal experiences, highlighting the different ways in which disabled students are marginalised in schools.  

–  In Iceland, we are weak at tackling bullying. The bully gets to fly high, while the victim is pulled aside, said Eiður Welding.  

The lack of adequate support systems and safe spaces in schools often exacerbates the social isolation, leaving students with disabilities without a platform to voice their concerns. 

The researchers holding the workshop expressed their appreciation for the diversity of experiences shared, noting how essential it is to capture these perspectives in any future research on youth councils and disability inclusion.  

– This is great because these are diverse experiences of how they participate or not, said Eva Harðardóttir. 

Upcoming conference in June 

The Malmö workshop provided a valuable platform for the researchers to engage in meaningful dialogue about the challenges and opportunities for disabled students in Nordic countries. The insights will add to the final report, which aims to analyse the functioning of student councils during the pandemic and also highlighting the issue of inclusion in these democratic bodies. 

This report will be presented at the Nordic Welfare Centre’s conference in June, concluding the project Nordic Cooperation on Children and Young People’s Opportunities for Participation and Development During the Covid-19 Pandemic. The aim of the report is not only to shed light on the barriers faced by students with disabilities but also to propose actionable steps to foster a better practice in and use of the student councils across the Nordic region to better the social environment of students in the educational establishments.   

– We need to think about schools differently, not just focus on teaching more and more. We need to create social spaces within the educational establishments where young people can truly participate and lead, one participant said.