BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.20, No.2, 2025, BECE 1987 

 

 

 

 

The Effects of School Governance Participation on 

Creativity in Basic Education Students 

By Ma, S. & Chu, H. 
Correspondence to: Siteng Ma, Capital University of Economics and Business, 

China. E-mail: bnumsteng@163.com 

OSTERING students’ creativity is a crucial step in the implementation of 

the national innovation-driven development strategy. The school envi-

ronment, particularly the opportunity for the students to participate in school 

governance, has profound impacts on creative skill development in the stu-

dents. Currently, there is no conclusive conceptualization of student partici-

pation in school governance, and the mechanism of its influence on students’ 

creativity remains unclear. To address the gap in the literature, this study 

adopts the mixed-method research design to analyze the dimensions of stu-

dent participation in school governance as well as its effects on students’ cre-

ativity. 

Research Results: 

• A model for student participation in school governance in the 

Chinese context was advanced, which includes three dimensions: 

free expression, involvement in the school agenda, and delibera-

tive discussion. 

• The level of the students’ participation in school governance pos-

itively predicts their creative skill development.  

• Students’ intrinsic motivation and creative self-efficacy are posi-

tively related to their creativity, and their participation in school 

governance is effective in boosting their intrinsic motivation and 

creative self-efficacy.  

Implications for school teaching and management practices aimed at 

improving students’ creativity: 

• Afford students freedom of expression. This means the teacher 

should not have any preconceived expectations of the students’ 

answers or give any pre-determined responses to their varied ex-

pressions. 

• Increase students’ involvement in school agendas. Students 

should be encouraged to actively engage in school or class-level 

agendas, which necessitates institutional improvements, such as 

establishing platforms for student representatives to participate in 

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Vol.20, No.2, 2025, BECE 1988 

school decision-making and creating mechanisms via which stu-

dents can influence school development. 

• Fostering a school culture of consultation and discussion. Full 

exchanges of ideas between teachers and students, as well as be-

tween students themselves, can generate new perspectives and 

facilitate the achievement of consensus. 

• Nurturing students' intrinsic motivation and creative self-efficacy 

in routine teaching and management practices. The school and 

teachers should encourage students to actively explore the mean-

ing of schooling for the real world and stimulate their interest in 

learning. 

 

Source: Journal of East China Normal University, 2025; 43(03):110-123.