Appendix B

Interview guide

Participation in student council

• How long have you been participating in the pupil’s council?
• Have you been involved in pupils’ councils before or in another school / social setting?
• For how long do pupils usually sit in the council?

Selection process – access and equity

• How are pupils selected for the pupils’ council? (Asked by teachers, principals, elections in class, elections in school, other ways…)
  • How are issues of diversity considered?
  • Would you say that the group of pupils in the council is diverse, if yes how exactly?
  • Is this important, if yes, why?
• What is the best or most suitable way of putting together a pupils’ council in your opinion?

Goals and aims of the pupil’s council

• Where you introduced to any, rules, goals or aims of the pupil’s councils?
  • If yes, what did these goals/aims include?
  • Were you able to discuss, choose or decide upon aims, goals and rules for the pupils’ council?
  • In your opinion, what should be the main aim of pupils’ councils – in other words why are they important?
    

Main projects of the pupil’s council

• What were some of the main themes or issues the pupils’ council has worked on during your time?
  • Who decides what projects or issues to focus on?
  • Can you give an example of a project the council has worked on?

Working methods

• How often do you meet in the council?
• Who oversees or runs the meetings?
• Is everyone able to share their opinion on the matters discussed in the council?
• If yes, how is this guaranteed?
• How do you conclude the issues discussed in the council?
• Do you ever experience disagreement in the council?
• How do you react or resolve it?
• Are members of the council supported by a special person or staff member from the school?
• What type of support is offered to the council?
• Do you consider it helpful, too little, too much?
  

Audience

• When decisions are made in the council, how are they put in motion? Who do you refer to for actualizing your decisions (principal, teachers, focal person, township).
• Does the council have a platform to reach out to students and teachers (i.e. social media, web page or hang up board).
• Can you give an example of when you decided upon a matter within the council and were able to move or change things based on that decision
• Do you feel like your ideas or decisions are valued and concerned in the school or wider society?
• Can you give an example of this if not provided already.
  

Influence

• Do you feel like decisions made in the council influence or impact your education, i.e. what or how you learn?
• Are there other areas within or outside the school you feel the council can influence? Can you provide an example of this?
  

Representative democracy

• How do you in the council make sure you are representing the voice and thoughts of other students in your school?
• Does the council ever meet or engage with other pupils’ councils in other schools?
• Have representatives had opportunities to participate in democratic events beyond their own school?
• Do representatives from the pupils’ council have a seat in the school board or other management or administrative bodies in the school?

Questions aimed at focal/informative person, principal or teachers involved with the pupils’ council:

• What is your role in relation to or in support of the pupils’ council in the school?
• How would you describe the aims or goals of the pupils’ council?
• Do you feel that the pupils’ council is able to influence matters within the school?
• Can you give an example describing a typical project or matter the council has been involved in.
• Do you think the council in your school is different or similar to other pupils’ councils in the area/region/country?
• If different, how or what makes it different?
• Are you involved in the selection process of the council?
• Do you feel that the council represents diversity and inclusion of all students? (think about space, voice, audience and influence)
• Can you give an example of why or why not? 
• What is the most ideal way of running a pupil’s council in your opinion?
• Consider both internal and external context and resources.
• What are some of the external circumstances that have impacted the way the pupils’ council is run today.
• How did Covid-19 impact the work of the pupil’s council in your school?
• Was the council operational during the pandemic?
• Were students engaged or considered for decision making at this point?
• …