Emotional Empowerment in High School Life

The emotional climate of a school is related to student conduct, engagement, and academic performance. However, at present, high school students in the United States report frequent feelings of stress, tiredness, and boredom. When asked how they want to feel, students report: happy, inspired, and empowered. Here, we discuss one way to bridge the gap between how students currently feel and how they want to feel. When students participate in civic activities, they experience personal benefits such as higher self-esteem and greater academic achievement; they also serve as models for their peers thereby improving school climate perceptions for all. In this chapter, we review the theoretical underpinnings of student empowerment at school (e.g., self-determination theory, bioecological theory of development, creative problem-solving, and emotional intelligence theory) and review methods for empowering student voice and fostering a student-led focus on way to promote more desirable emotions at school, including the need for student-centered assessments, and varied pedagogical approaches. One example of such a program is inspirED, a free program to support secondary students in taking charge of their school climate through project-based initiatives.