Relational pedagogy in higher education: what might it look like in practice and how do we develop it?

ABSTRACT

This paper argues for recognition of the centrality of relational pedagogy for student learning and the important role played by academic developers in supporting this. In the paper, the authors situate relational pedagogy within the context of contemporary marketized higher education, explore the nature and importance of relational pedagogy, and they illustrate some of the ways in which it may be developed and enacted. Academic developers play a significant role in supporting academics' understanding and practice of relational pedagogy. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of a relational pedagogy at a time when care and relationships with others have mattered more than ever. Therefore, the authors suggest that relational pedagogy is an important area worthy of academic developers' attention and institutional backing.

KEYWORDS:

• Relational pedagogy
• academic development
• higher education
• student learning
• academic practice

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Professor Catherine Bovill for her valuable comments and suggestions on an earlier version of the paper. We would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers who commented on the original submission of the paper. Lastly, we would like to thank IJAD Associate Editors Anna Serbati and Henk Huijser for facilitating the peer review and publication processes of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Feng Su

Feng Su is an Associate Professor and Head of Education Studies at Liverpool Hope University, UK. His main research interests and writings are located within the following areas: education policy, the development of the learner in higher education settings, academic practice, and professional learning. He Tweets @DrFengSu.

Margaret Wood

Margaret Wood is a Senior Lecturer in Education at York St John University, UK. Her recent research and publications have explored the centralizing tendencies of much current education policy and its relation to community and democracy at the local level, and the development of academic practice in higher education.