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The aim of this study is to understand how students who are involved in student councils at upper secondary schools in a municipality in northern Sweden experience their opportunity for formal student influence. This is done on the basis that the school in regulatory documents has a democratic responsibility to educate citizens who should be able to be active in society when they have completed a Swedish school education. The study was conducted through qualitative group interviews with students who have either been or are active on the board of each student council. Results from the interviews show that students experience different conditions for conducting work at different schools. The students' experience may indicate that the school leadership acts both in accordance with and in violation of the school's democratic mission. Furthermore, students believe that they gain valuable knowledge from their involvement in student councils, which according to democracy theories can bring increased participatory democratic knowledge for them, which in turn can lead to a stronger democratic society. |
