“The best class in the world”: stories and dreams of Chilean students

Abstract

International literature agrees that student participation is a fundamental pillar for the advancement towards inclusive school experiences. However, multiple barriers—adultcentrism, the primacy of academic performance, and rigid school structures that characterize advanced neoliberalism—systematically constrain the expression of student voice and the possibility for children and adolescents to shape their own learning experiences. In this context, the question arises about how students imagine “the best class in the world,” understanding such imagination as a critical lens for identifying pedagogical conditions of teaching. The aim of this study is to understand the ideal of teaching from the perspective of students in early childhood, primary, and secondary education in Chilean schools. A qualitative design was employed, derived from a larger research project on innovative pedagogical practices in vulnerable schools. We worked with playful research methodologies, specifically the “letters to the principal” technique, in which 160 students answered the question: “What would your best class in the world be like?” Data were collected through online forms and oral recordings and analyzed using inductive content analysis supported by open coding in ATLAS.ti. Five emerging categories were identified: (1) school climate and coexistence, (2) participatory learning, (3) meaningful learning, (4) organization of educational space and time, and (5) assessment for learning. The results show a strong student orientation toward participatory methodologies and a desire to move beyond traditional, lecture-based approaches. The two most recurrent categories were Participatory Learning and Organization of Educational Space and Time, highlighting the need to energize learning experiences through practical, collaborative, and playful activities, as well as to introduce greater flexibility in the temporal and spatial structure of the classroom. The importance of open and natural spaces, the search for emotionally supportive environments, and the value placed on a harmonious climate intensify notably in secondary education. Additionally, though less frequently, upper-grade students expressed explicit critiques of current evaluation models, calling for more formative, diversified, and less punitive assessments. The category Meaningful Learning underscores the need to connect curricular content with students’ interests, experiences, and issues relevant to everyday life. The level-by-level analysis reveals differentiated patterns: play predominates in early childhood education; in the first cycle of primary school, breaking routines becomes central; in the second cycle, concerns about coexistence and evaluation increase; and in secondary school, space, emotional climate, and aesthetically cared-for environments gain prominence. Overall, the study shows that students envision a class that requires transformations in how educational space, methodologies, and pedagogical relationships are organized. This vision challenges teacher education, urging the re-imagination of the classroom as a dynamic, cultural, and emotional space where student participation is a condition—not a consequence—of learning. Finally, the study provides evidence for developing school practices that recognize children and adolescents as social subjects with voice and agency, contributing to the construction of more democratic schools.