In recent years, schools have been moving away from centralized decision making, granting teachers the authority to determine course content. This book explores the concept of including students in curricular decision making. Chapter 1 explains why students at all grade levels should be involved in choosing topics of study. Educational research and theory to support the model are presented in chapter 2. Involving students in decisions about curriculum improves the following areas of student performance--autonomy, student learning, motivation, and classroom behavior. Step-by-step guidelines for promoting student curricular decision making are offered in the third chapter. The fourth chapter describes how student participation in curriculum development worked in one middle-school classroom. Tips for ensuring that course content is adequately covered and a discussion of factors for increased efficiency are offered in chapter 5. The final chapter provides answers to commonly asked questions about student involvement in curricular decision making. An index and 15 figures are included. (Contains 41 references). (LMI)