Student-Centered Teaching Approaches and Pupils’ Active Classroom Participation at Busilac Elementary School

Abstract

Student-centered teaching has been widely promoted in basic education as a means of improving participation, motivation, and learning quality. However, fewer studies document how student-centered approaches are enacted in everyday elementary classrooms and how pupils themselves experience “active participation” beyond simple compliance. This qualitative case study examined the student-centered teaching approaches used at Busilac Elementary School and analyzed how these practices shaped pupils’ active classroom participation across behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. Data were gathered through classroom observations, focus group discussions with pupils, and semi-structured interviews with teachers, and were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings indicate that dialogic instruction, structured learner autonomy, cooperative learning routines, and formative scaffolding collectively strengthened pupils’ participation by increasing willingness to speak, sustaining on-task behavior, and supporting reflective thinking. The study also identifies implementation tensions, including time constraints, uneven group participation, and decision fatigue among pupils when choices were insufficiently structured. Implications highlight the need to design student-centered instruction with clear participation structures, equitable group accountability, and feedback routines that support pupils’ confidence and persistence.