Relational Pedagogy

Relational pedagogy, also known as relationship-based pedagogy, is an educational approach that places a strong emphasis on building positive and meaningful relationships between educators and students (Bovill, 2020). It recognises the vital role of relationships in fostering effective teaching and learning experiences. Relational pedagogy goes beyond the traditional teacher-student dynamic, focusing on trust, empathy, mutual respect, and understanding as the foundation for a successful learning environment. Bovill (2020) argues that with the massification of HE, all staff in HE institutions face the challenge of how they can support students to feel that they belong and are valued when we regularly teach students in large classes.

According to Bovill (2020), relational pedagogy and co-creating learning and teaching foster meaningful relationships based on values, shared respect, and the importance of dialogue. Hickey and Riddle (2022) propose three fundamental directions in pedagogical relations: relations between students, relations between students and teachers, and relations between students, teachers, and spaces of learning. BEL+T’s DIAgram includes these and other elements as part of the learning design framework. These interactions and the development they prompt are iterative and suggestive of wider circles of relationality. Students and teachers connect to the private contexts of the home, peer networks, and wider socioeconomic and socio-cultural circumstances. It is with these four fundamental relations that teachers can consider the design of relational pedagogy and the positions of all.

Some suggestions for enacting relational pedagogy include:

• Considering the tone we set in our conversations with culturally and linguistically diverse learners from day one, to explore their cultural backgrounds relevant to learning tasks and to connect them with each other as well as to the teacher and learning content;
• Developing and delivering some curricula and learning resources that students can find personally meaningful and relevant to their learning journeys and future professional motivations;
• Conducting regular open-ended dialogues which are of interest to the diverse learners in the classroom and to emphasise the need to develop and grow active, respectful, and deep listening skills of various cultural viewpoints and worldviews; and,
• Working in partnership with students to create components of curricula, pedagogy, and assessments. This leads to a reciprocal outcome and fosters shared responsibility across both parties.

There are many examples of educators enacting relational pedagogy successfully. For instance, a 2021 case study by Hall and colleagues provides a compelling example of students partnering in curriculum decolonisation. This initiative involved the joint creation of a podcast series with teaching faculty and the launch of a student-staff curated blog named DeCol.