Abstract Draft

Internationally, leadership has been regarded as an adult phenomenon. While learner

leadership is not a new concept globally, in South Africa, there is a lack of literature on the
topic that presents the opportunity for it to be addressed. Leadership here is often wrongly
perceived as a phenomenon that is limited to adults because we do not acknowledge children
as competent agents - we do not believe that they are able to make decisive decisions. This
study design is a participatory case study in a high school situated in East London, Eastern
Cape, the study made use of purposeful convenience sampling in which a selection of 25
grade 8 learners formed the base from which data was collected based on their experience
from their respective primary schools. Learner voice is acknowledged in high schools,
however less so in primary schools. The study results revealed that through various
participatory methods that learner leadership can be cultivated at a primary school level. It
emphasizes empowering learners to take an active role in their primary school by developing
leadership skills through promoting involvement in decision-making processes by providing
them the space in order for their voices to be heard.

Key words: participatory methods, learner leadership, voices, primary school, space.