ITALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION

School leadership has two moral imperatives in Northern Irish schools. Firstly, there is the imperative to provide all students with equal access to a relevant pedagogical experience to achieve identified learning outcomes that link to full economic, cultural and political engagement in society. Secondly, there is an imperative to build community in the school and locale. A threestage action-research project focusing on participation in school processes and practices was carried out in a Northern Irish Secondary School to address these imperatives. This paper reports stage one of the action research carried out by a School Leadership and Management Team (SLMT), in partnership with an Higher Education Institution research team. Evidence revealed students were positive about their overall school experiences whilst teachers were committed to a values-based approach to curriculum delivery. However, students would like to participate more and map their learning to their strategies to achieve their aspirations for future life styles in terms of economic, cultural and political societal engagement. The research found characteristics of good participation were relationships built on trust, respect, optimism, and the recognition of diversity.