Abstract:
Enabling students to pursue multiple and complementary achievement and social goals should positively affect student achievement. Empowering students could facilitate such pursuits. A descriptive study using ethnographic techniques was conducted to examine the nature of student empowerment in a primary school classroom. Findings suggest that there are two dimensions of student empowerment: intrapersonal and interpersonal empowerment, supporting existing literature. Intrapersonal empowerment is the ability and capability of students to pursue appropriate and complementary social and achievement goals through the establishment of agendas. Interpersonal empowerment is the pursuit of goals by students that are not in conflict with peers or the teacher. This research indicates that student empowerment is a fluid and fragile phenomenon to which the teacher can contribute.