Pupil empowerment: Pupil power?

Is pupil empowerment possible or even desirable? The writers7 answer is a qualified ‘yes’. Having reviewed recent developments, they suggest that empowerment involves the right to self-determination by individuals and democratic process within schools. They go on to ask whether PSE encourages the empowerment of pupils. Their conclusion is that it can only do this if there is a firm commitment from the whole school to create the right conditions. In their view we get beyond tokenism by prompting appropriate pupil - teacher relationships, creating empowering structures and systems, and giving pupils the skills they need.