Reframing Teaching and Learning Through Students’ Voices: A Narrative Inquiry During Teacher Monitoring

Abstract

Class monitoring is widely used to support students’ academic progress and classroom engagement, but research has largely focused on teachers' and administrators’ views, not students. This study investigates high school students' accounts of classroom monitoring and their perceptions of its impact on their learning, motivation, and personal development. It used qualitative narrative inquiry to capture students’ evolving meanings of their experiences. It selected five high school students (aged 16–18 years) who were currently enrolled, experienced regular teacher monitoring in classroom learning and were willing to talk and reflect on their monitoring experiences. Our small sample emphasises student narratives rather than statistical generalisation. This study examined students' accounts and classroom experiences through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. Data analysis involved multiple readings of interview transcripts and observation notes, identifying significant events and experiences, coding recurring meanings, constructing narratives, and comparing themes across narratives. It identified supportive and constraining aspects of classroom monitoring. Monitoring could be a motivating tool, promote academic responsibility and improve learning through constructive criticism. However, it could be restrictive and anxiety-inducing. Students said that the fairness, purpose, frequency, and interpersonal quality of teacher–student interactions determined whether monitoring was supportive guidance or intrusive oversight. Reframing classroom monitoring as a relational and interpretive practice, rather than a control and accountability mechanism, helps students understand it. This paper discusses implications for teacher training and classroom management practices that balance academic accountability with students’ autonomy, emotional wellness, and opportunities to express their voices.