Relational Pedagogies

Relational pedagogies place relationships at the heart of good teaching and learning. As shown across multiple fields of educational scholarship, educational interactions and learning exchanges between children and their teachers necessarily exist within the context of an existing relationship. The strength and characteristics of these relationships in turn shape and influence the success of the exchange. Importantly, therefore, relational pedagogy is not simply about making a child or teacher feel happy or content. Rather, it is closely related to the style, quality, and content of education a child receives. Empirical research supports these theoretical claims. Relationship qualities and teacher-child interaction qualities have each long been shown to influence children’s emotional well-being and competence, across early childhood centers and schools, yet there is increasingly strong evidence that they shape cognitive development and learning outcomes too. To ensure equitable educational opportunities for all children, strong and adaptive teacher-child relationships are critical. Given the varied definitions and use of relational pedagogy in the literature, together with a diverse range of relevant research that examines relational concepts, we have attempted to present multiple representative topics and articles across this encyclopedia entry. The topics and articles we feature are not exhaustive, and, indeed, there are likely to be other good ways that one might frame research and theory on relational pedagogies. Where two studies have similar findings, we have intentionally given preference to the more recent study; noting that references from this more recent work are likely to offer the reader the broadest window into the field. We nonetheless also include a number of seminal resources. We also have elected to cite research with robust methodologies where possible, although we note that methodological approaches vary markedly between subfields. Research examining teachers’ perspectives in early childhood centers has often used multiple case studies, for example, while research examining children’s developmental outcomes within particular relationships or following particular interactions is often larger in scale and broader in approach. The majority of research and scholarship on relational pedagogies, student-teacher relationship quality, and interactional processes is conducted with Western societies and cultures: often in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and western Europe. Less research or scholarship has been conducted in other countries, cultures, and subcultures. This is a problem replicated across developmental and educational research broadly, with study participants much more likely to come from WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) societies than from other non-WEIRD societies. While the majority of works in this bibliography are therefore also conducted with Western children and students, we include a section outlining an important body of emerging research and scholarship focused on relational pedagogies in Indigenous, non-Western, and diverse communities.

Associations Between Student Behavior, Teacher Practice Delivery and Teacher Student Relationships: An Integrative Data Analytic Approach

This study used integrative data analysis (IDA) to examine student teacher relationship profiles within student problem behavior, teacher delivered practices, and teacher-student relationships, and the influence of profiles on distal outcomes in early childhood and early elementary classrooms with students with or at risk for EBD. Typically, samples from these two age groups are considered separately, however, we use IDA procedures such as data harmonization to identify measures from three separate federally funded studies spanning ages (3-8) to examine these phenomena across these developmental ranges. Using an exploratory approach to latent profile analysis (LPA) and including Conflict, Closeness, Teacher Delivery of Practices, Social Skills, and Problem Behavior scores as indicators, we found significant evidence for the existence of four student teacher relationship profiles among our sample of 196 student-teacher dyads observed across three different datasets. These dyads roughly corresponded to what we describe as four different teacher-student interaction profiles: 1) Responsive, 2) Unresponsive, 3) Difficult, and 4) Challenging. Nearly 80 percent of dyads fell into profiles 1 or 3, with the remaining dyads split between profiles 2 and 4. Further, we found that profile membership did predict significant differences on most of the same measures observed at Time 2, in the Spring. Findings from the present study provide evidence that teacher student relationships in early childhood and elementary school classrooms are multifaceted and that transactional processes inherent in these relationships influence some outcomes at the end of the school year.

During the pandemic, children are (not) bored! The “creative boredom” at “Navigo” Author's Primary School in Poznań

The article refers to the difficult situation of school, and above all of children, in the context of the ongoing pandemic. The aim of this article was to present the possibilities of organizing time for children, based on the example of activities undertaken by one of the primary schools (the “Creative boredom” programme). The specific activities of children were analysed. Based on own observations and conversations with children and teachers, a map of activities that reflects creative boredom was created. The analyses show that creative boredom is extremely important in the context of developing a child’s potential. It was also noticed that during the current changes related to the pandemic situation, the school has an additional obligation related to the increased building and nurturing of the student-teacher relationship, which allows the child not only to meet the needs, but also to develop.

Lost Trust? The Experiences of Teachers and Students during Schooling Disrupted by the Covid-19 Pandemic

This paper aims to help understand how relational trust between students and teachers embedded in the teaching-learning process unfolded during the emergency distance and flexible hybrid education in Serbia in 2020. It also identifies niches in student-teacher relationships that hold potential for repairing and building trust. For the student-teacher relationship to be trust-based and thus conducive to students’ learning and wellbeing, a consensus about role expectations must be achieved. As the Covid-19 crisis interrupted schooling and education, participants faced uncertainties and ambiguities in role enactment, and the cornerstones of relational trust were disrupted. In an effort to understand 1) the context in which trust was challenged, 2) the ways in which trust was disrupted, and 3) the opportunities for its restoration, we relied on a multi-genre dynamic storytelling approach to data collection and values analysis for data processing. A total of 136 students and 117 teachers from 22 schools wrote 581 narratives in three genres: stories, letters and requests. The analysis yielded 22 codes that allowed further understanding of how changes in structural and institutional conditions affected both students’ and teachers’ expectations of each other, and how incongruence of these expectations fed into feelings of helplessness for both students and teachers, disengagement from learning for students, and heavy workload and poor performance for teachers. In addition, the narratives account for positive outcomes when these expectations were met, and for opportunities for trust-building if students’ and teachers’ perspectives are brought to each other’s attention and negotiated locally. Finally, recommendations for restoring trust are given.

Co-Creation Strategy, New Challenges in Entrepreneurship Education

Co-creation in entrepreneurship education is related to the teacher's ability to innovate and develop new practice among the student-teacher relationship; it is also a new way to enhance creativity and student value creation. In this approach, the teacher is considered the first actor of co-creation; he creates value among co-teaching, he is a facilitator for the launch of a start-up, and he is at the core of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Thus, teaching with value co-creation, as we define, is a learning process that combines co-creation as a venture creation tool and provides personalised support for business plan competition (Dif et al., 2019). In the higher education system, innovation is an indicator of quality in teaching in all discipline. For entrepreneurship education, innovation with co-creation is a pedagogical practice based on project learning experimentation. This practice is efficient when it creates value for the learner in a co-creation process that combines knowledge sharing between the stakeholders. However, selecting the appropriate pedagogical practice is a curial element in the skills development in entrepreneurship education. Indeed, using co-creation as co-teaching implicates a pre-selection of the participant.

Exploring the student perspectives on the barriers of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study using interpretative phenomenological analysis

PurposeThe present study aims to gauge the perspectives of students on the difficulties they faced during online learning during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) through the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) technique.Design/methodology/approachThe current study employed IPA, and it was conducted among the students enrolled for professional courses in the government, private and deemed-to-be universities in Uttarakhand, India, using semi-structured interviews for the purpose of data collection.FindingsThe findings have been grouped under five parts referred to as “superordinate themes” or “barriers” which comprises learning in an online class environment, online learning in the home environment, student–teacher relationship in online learning, technical hindrances in online learning and health issues in online learning. These superordinate themes were further grouped under sub-themes.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study focused on the students of various private, public and deemed-to-be universities of the Uttarakhand region and represents the higher education sector only and did not tap the primary, secondary and vocational education. The students of academic courses or degree courses like arts, commerce, basic sciences and humanities, etc. were not included in the research study. Hence, the study lacks generalizability.Practical implicationsThe research findings of the present study have implications for higher education institutions (HEIs), teachers, students and policymakers.Originality/valueThe present study addresses the methodological gap by offering a new line of research where IPA has been used as the methodology to determine the barriers of online learning in the COVID-19 situation, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, none of the studies have used it so far to ascertain the barriers to online learning from the student perspective.

Co-Creation Strategy, New Challenges in Entrepreneurship Education

Objective - Co-creation in entrepreneurship education is related to the teacher's ability to innovate and develop new practice among the student-teacher relationship; it is also a new way to enhance creativity and student value creation. In this approach, the teacher is considered the first actor of co-creation; he creates value among co-teaching, he is a facilitator for the launch of a start-up, and he is at the core of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Thus, teaching with value co-creation, as we define, is a learning process that combines co-creation as a venture creation tool and provides personalised support for business plan competition. In the higher education system, innovation is an indicator of quality in teaching in all discipline. For entrepreneurship education, innovation with co-creation is a pedagogical practice based on project learning experimentation. This practice is efficient when it creates value for the learner in a co-creation process that combines knowledge sharing between the stakeholders. However, selecting the appropriate pedagogical practice is a curial element in the skills development in entrepreneurship education. Indeed, using co-creation as co-teaching implicates a pre-selection of the participant. Methodology - In this study, the author uses a qualitative analysis method of interviews made with teachers implicated in a co-creation approach and students who had participated in start-up competition. The sample was selected based on (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) STEM student entrepreneur experience. Results and findings - In achieving the objective of this paper, which is to understand the use of co-creation as an innovative pedagogical practice in the area of entrepreneurship education. The results show the value creation of co-creation as a co-teaching practice and a challenging tool of enhancing entrepreneurial spirit. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords: Co-Creation; Entrepreneurship Education; Co-Teaching. JEL Classification: M31, E24, I29.

Prejudice and Ethnic Bullying Among Children: The Role of Moral Disengagement and Student-Teacher Relationship

The identification of factors associated with ethnic bullying within multiethnic schools is a timely social issue. Up to now, ethnic prejudice has been found to facilitate aggression triggered by schoolmates’ cultural background. Yet, there is still a dearth of research about the mechanisms underlying this relation among children. In order to fill this gap, by adopting a social-cognitive developmental perspective on prejudice and morality, this paper investigated the mediating role of moral disengagement in the association between ethnic prejudice and ethnic bullying, as well as the moderating role of closeness with the teacher. A mediation model and a moderated mediation model were applied to data collected from 552 primary school children aged 8–10years. Ethnic prejudice, ethnic bullying, and moral disengagement were assessed through self-reported questionnaires, whereas a questionnaire was administered to teachers to assess the level of closeness with their pupils. Results indicated that ethnic prejudice was directly and positively related to ethnic bullying and that moral disengagement partially mediated this association. This indirect link was particularly strong for children with low levels of closeness with their teachers, whereas it resulted not significant for pupils with high levels of closeness, suggesting that closeness with the teacher might restrain morally disengaged children from enacting ethnic bullying. Implications for research and practice aimed at reducing prejudice and moral disengagement, as well as at promoting positive relationships among children and between pupils and teachers, are discussed.

Empathy and Defender Role in Bullying at School: Student-Teacher Relationship as Mediator

Introduction. Although much research has shown strong relationship between empathy and defender role, less is known about how student-teacher relationship mediated those variables. Our main hyphotesis was to reveal whether the student-teacher relationship could be mediating the effect of affective and cognitive empathy on the defender role in bullying at school. Method. A total of 311 participants were selected from 2 secondary schools in south Jakarta. Students refer to grade 7-8 with ranged in age from 13 to 15 years (Mage = 13.64; SD = .713). There were four instruments used: The Basic Empathy Scale to measure affective and cognitive empathy, Behaviors During Aggressive Episodes and Student Bystander Behavior Scale to measure defender role, and Student Per- ception of Affective Relationship with Teacher Scale. Results. The results revealed both affective and cognitive empathy were found having a positive effect on defender role in bullying situation among junior high school stu- dents. However, cognitive empathy was found positively stronger on defender role rather than affective empathy. Furthermore, student-teacher relationship only partially mediated the effect both affective and cognitive empathy on defender role. Discussion and Conclusion. These findings emphasized the urgency of comprehensive program to create defender by enhancing empathy and positive student-teacher rela- tionship to inhibit bullying behavior at schools.