Having their say beyond the classroom: Engaging student curriculum perspectives through digital methods

AbstractOngoing effects of global crises on education make it more urgent for researchers to seek out and listen to student perspectives and respond to the shifting nature of student‐centred research. However, research indicates that student voices are largely under‐represented in research in education. In this paper, we use literature from different fields to examine the possibilities of social media to engage student perspectives on curriculum and increase methodological diversity in education research. To do this, we draw on a study in Australia that used social media to recruit senior secondary student participants for a national online survey about their experiences of school history. The online survey attracted a high level of student participation (N = 292) and a demographically diverse sample that generated rich data. We conceptualise the challenges and potential of our experience of this approach to student‐centred research in a typology of the 4Ds: digital device, decision‐makers, data and distance, and argue its potential as an effective method for engaging an already difficult‐to‐reach audience in curriculum inquiry to inform curriculum reform. The study highlights the possibilities of this selected use of digital methods for curriculum inquiry researchers in other disciplines and jurisdictions, as well as across education research more broadly.