Student and Youth Leadership: A focused literature review

Abstract

This article undertakes a select but focused review of recent research literature on student and youth leadership in schools and elsewhere. It aims at discovering the current state of our knowledge, using as its focus the point of view of young people themselves in a research field where it is the adult voice that usually holds sway, in studies that are commonly for, rather than with, young people. The review first examines recent and relevant literature related to leadership by students in schools, followed by the discussion of a number of studies of youth leadership in sport. Projects which investigate links between leadership and citizenship or civic engagement are then examined, whether in schools or other social settings. The review then attends to the various ways in which youth voice is being accessed and for what purposes. It concludes that young people‟s voice on leadership is in need of a hearing.