The Student Parliament Programme in Sri Lankan Schools: Attitudes, Implementation Challenges, and Practices

Abstract

Student participation in school governance is widely recognized as an effective approach to promoting democratic citizenship, leadership development, and active civic engagement among young people. In Sri Lanka, the Student Parliament Programme was formally introduced through Ministry of Education Circular No. 03/2019 to provide students in Grades 6–13 with practical experiences of democratic governance while fostering leadership, responsibility, and peacebuilding. Despite its national implementation, limited empirical evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of the programme and the challenges encountered during its implementation. This study examined students' and teachers' attitudes towards the Student Parliament Programme, identified the challenges affecting its implementation, and explored strategies to improve its effectiveness in Sri Lankan schools. A mixed-methods research design was employed using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, participant observations, and document analysis. The study involved 10 principals, 10 teachers serving as deputy secretary generals of student parliaments, and 50 student parliament representatives selected purposively from ten secondary schools in the Matale Education Zone. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were analysed through thematic analysis. The findings revealed that although most students expressed positive attitudes towards the programme, its educational objectives have not been fully achieved because of limited awareness of the governing policy framework, inadequate administrative support, insufficient financial and physical resources, and weak student participation in school decision-making. The study further found that female students, particularly those studying in the Tamil medium, demonstrated comparatively higher levels of participation in leadership activities. The findings highlight the need for strengthened institutional support, systematic teacher training, greater student awareness of democratic governance, and enhanced collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the Election Commission to improve programme implementation. The study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on democratic citizenship education and school governance while providing practical recommendations for strengthening student participation in Sri Lankan schools.