Teachers' roles in facilitating, delimiting, and balancing student participation rights: The case of democratic (open) schools’ disciplinary procedures

This study explored teachers' roles in the disciplinary procedures of democratic (open) schools that incorporate participatory student-teacher committees. Interviews with educators, students, and parents yielded a conceptualization of teachers' roles on a continuum ranging between facilitating vs. delimiting student participation rights. Teachers who provide their students with guidance and support are able to balance fostering the students' autonomy with protecting them. These multiple teachers' roles encompass aspects relating to the participation of individual students and to the school's participatory structures. This conceptualization unpacks teachers' complex roles in whole-school participatory approaches that empower students to participate in decisions concerning their peers.