What democracy in action taught me about student empowerment

Abstract

A seed that was sown during lockdown – testing the boundaries of student agency and democratic participation – came to fruition two years later. This chapter reflects upon the journey from 2020, when the author explored ‘emergency’ democracy by way of students making online delivery decisions within the constraints of a pre-existing modular framework, to 2022, which saw students being handed the reins to create an entire module from a blank piece of paper. The chapter provides a practical insight into the process and timeline of facilitating students as module leaders as well as students’ views on the benefits of building a module’s learning outcomes, module content, delivery methods, and assessment techniques to meet their employability requirements. It closes with the author’s top three tips for those considering a process within their setting.