What It Takes to Move from Tokenized Student Involvement to Meaningful Student Voice Work

An article written by Nathan Ngieng, Aristotle-Maximus Zwinge, and Harshan Oberoi of Abbotsford School District in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada for Next Generation Learning Challenges about their work with Shane Safir and Dr. Jamila Dugan.

Published February 15, 2024

“In particular, the partnership with Shane Safir led to the uncovering of inequities in the system through supporting the adults to gather and listen to students through the collection of “street data.” This was in part to directly counter the hegemonic and tokenistic practices of the past and ensure authentic steps were taken to include students as a part of the change process to improve student success in the school district.”

Cultivating a Pedagogy of Student Voice

An article for ASCD's EL Magazine, written by Shane Safir
Published April 1, 2023

To spur agency and critical thinking, educators can take steps to position students as knowledge builders rather than just consumers.

Drawing on Indigenous pedagogy and her own work on the value of “street data” in education, author and consultant Shane Safir discusses the importance of creating more space for student voice in instruction. By supporting student expression and agency, she says, educators can help students become knowledge builders as opposed to passive consumers. Safir outlines several instructional shifts educators can make to move from “a pedagogy of compliance” to a “pedagogy of voice.” These include prioritizing inquiry over answers, ritualizing revision and reflection, and providing structures to encourage student expression and discussion.

Leading a District Antiracism Journey

An article for ASCD's EL Magazine, co-written by Shane Safir, Joe Truss and Julia Kempkey
Published March 1, 2023

After a grand jury report cited a pervasive pattern of racism and hate speech, a California school district took bold—sometimes uncomfortable—steps toward cultural change. At San Mateo Union High School District, assistant superintendent Julia Kempkey and equity coaches Shane Safir and Joe Truss faced the hard truth that no single policy, curriculum, or training would be the key to dismantling pervasive systemic inequities. Instead, they embraced the idea of a change “journey”—a nonlinear approach to long-term antiracism work centered around five guiding principles.

Standardized Tests Aren’t the Only Meaningful Data on Student Achievement: The case for using “street data”

Opinion, September 19, 2022.

MindShift: Three tools to help educators better understand what students need

An article for KQED's MindShift about how several Bay Area educators are using the tools and ideas in Street Data to gather data in order to better understand the needs of their students. Published March 28, 2022.

Creating Equity in Classrooms: It’s Time School Districts Harness the Power of Listening

An interview with Shane Safir for the Endominance website by author Victoria Sambursky. Posted December 10, 2021.

5 Things You Need to Know To Be A Highly Effective Educator or Teacher

Running into the Burning Building of Racism at Work

An article by Dr. Jamila Dugan published on ZORA.

Black Students Are Not ‘Marginalized,’ They Are the Center of Our Work

An article by Dr. Jamila Dugan for Education Post.

Beware of Equity Traps and Tropes

Article by Dr. Jamila Dugan featured in the March issue of Education Leadership Magazine: Equity in Action edition.