The Impact of Student Leadership in Classroom Management on Student Achievement

Public schools across the nation are being held to higher standards of accountability.

No Child Left Behind, Research Based Instruction, and similar initiatives are increasing the need for teachers to use proven and effective methodologies for teaching and managing classrooms.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between a specific classroom management technique and student achievement and to determine whether including student leadership in the classroom management model has an effect on student reported success or grades.

The researcher used a quantitative research design to investigate student leadership in classroom management.

A random sample of students in grades 9--12 was culled from three high schools chosen from a convenience sample.

These 102 students completed an online survey developed and piloted by the researcher.

The survey asked participants to consider a class they had taken that included frequent student leadership and a course that included little or no student leadership.

Student achievement was measured by letter grade and students' feelings of success.

Survey results were analyzed to determine what effect, if any, student leadership in classroom management had on student achievement.

Cross tabulation and paired sample t tests were used for analysis.

Using a paired-samples t test, t(98) = 5.83, p < .001, students found their high-participation classes more interesting than their lower-participation classes.

Paired samples t tests were also conducted to compare school grades between the high participation group and the low participation group.

Differences were significant, t(99) = 4.82, p < .001.

Further research is needed to identify which student leadership methods have the largest impact on student achievement.

Additionally, further research may determine if student leadership is more effective in any particular subject area or classroom setting.