Planning for co-curricular design-student voice, power dynamics and threshold learning: A thematic analysis of the student perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v7i1.4937Keywords:
student voice, person-centred practice, threshold concepts, power dynamic, health and medical education, midwiferyAbstract
A reflexive thematic analysis is applied to focus group data to understand how students experienced working in partnership with university staff and clinical professionals to co-design aspects of the curriculum. A qualitative descriptive approach is used to examine power dynamics, hierarchies, and student voice. Four themes are identified: students felt heard, students understood the relevance of and/or translation to professional practice, students described a shift in their perceived role in the project as well as shifts in hierarchical norms, and they reported feeling a sense of confidence. Insights are offered for applying the students-as-partners (SaP) framework to health education programmes. Relevant threshold learning concepts, cultural competency, and recently announced health system priorities in New Zealand are discussed and presented as both relevant and significant considerations. This analysis intends to offer a unique contribution towards health curriculum discussions, a recognised gap within the growing body of SaP literature.
Downloads
References
Barradell, S., & Bell, A. (2021). Is health professional education making the most of the idea of ‘students as partners’? Insights from a qualitative research synthesis. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 26(2), 513-580. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10459-020-09998-3
Barradell, S., & Peseta, T. (2016). Promise and challenge of identifying threshold concepts: A cautionary account of using transactional curriculum inquiry. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 40(2), 262–275. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2014.971105
Bombard, Y., Baker, G.R., Orlando, E. et al. (2018). Engaging patients to improve quality of care: a systematic review. Implementation Science, 13(98), https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-018-0784-z
Bovill, C., Cook-Sather, A., Felten, P., Millard, L., & Moore-Cherry, N. (2016). Addressing potential challenges in co-creating learning and teaching: Overcoming resistance, navigating institutional norms and ensuring inclusivity in student-staff partnerships. Higher Education, 71, 195–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-015-9896-4
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. Sage.
Cook-Sather, A. (2012). Amplifying student voices in higher education: Democratising teaching and learning through changing the acoustic on a college campus. Revista de Education, 359, 184–284. https://www.educacionyfp.gob.es/dam/jcr:ba7b9ebc-e4df-4ccf-85ed-80cc30c0e476/re35910.pdf
Cook-Sather, A. (2014). Student-faculty partnership in explorations of pedagogical practice: A threshold concept in academic development. International Journal for Academic Development, 19(3), 186-198. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2013.805694
Cook-Sather, A. (2020). Respecting voices: How the co-creation of teaching and learning can support academic staff, underrepresented students, and equitable practices. Higher Education, 79(5), 885–901. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00445-w
Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., & Felten, P. (2014). Engaging students as partners in learning and teaching: A guide for faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Cook-Sather, A., & Luz, A. (2015). Greater engagement in and responsibility for learning: What happens when students cross the threshold of student–faculty partnership. Higher Education Research & Development, 34(6), 1097–1109. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2014.911263
Costa, D., Mercieca-Bebber, R., Tesson, S., Seidler, Z., Lopez A. (2019) Patient, client, consumer, survivor or other alternatives? A scoping review of preferred terms for labelling individuals who access healthcare across settings. BMJ Open, 7 9(3):e025166. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025166
Denniston, C., Molloy, E., Nestel, D., Woodward-Kron, R., & Keating, J. L. (2017). Learning outcomes for communication skills across the health professions: a systematic literature review and qualitative synthesis. BMJ open, 7(4), e014570. https://doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014570
Englander, R., Holmboe, E., Batalden, P., Caron, R., Durham, C., Foster, T., Ogrinc, G., Ercan-Fang, N. & Batalden, M. (2020). Coproducing health professions education: A prerequisite to coproducing health care services? Academic Medicine, 95(7):1006-1013. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000003137
Freeman, L. M., Timperley, H., & Adair, V. (2004). Partnership in midwifery care in New Zealand. Midwifery, 20(1), 2–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0266-6138(03)00043-3
Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2014). Engagement through partnership: Students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. Higher Education Academy.
Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2016). Students as partners: Reflections on a conceptual model. Teaching & Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal, 4(2), 8–20. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.4.2.3
Health Quality and Safety Commission (HQSC). (2022). Frequently asked questions: Partners in care, Health Quality and Safety Commission. https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/consumer-hub/partners-in-care/frequently-asked-questions-partners-in-care/
Hill, S. (2020). The difference between troublesome knowledge and threshold concepts. Studies in Higher Education, 45(3), 665-676. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1619679
Hintz, A., & Tyson, K. (2015). Complex listening: Supporting students to listen as mathematical sense-makers. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 17(4), 296–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/10986065.2015.1084850
Huey-li, L. (2001). Silences and silencing the silences. Philosophy of Education Archive (pp. 157–165).
International Confederation of Midwives. (2018). Essential competencies for midwives: 2018 update. https://www.internationalmidwives.org/assets/files/general-files/2018/10/icm-competencies---english-document_final_oct-2018.pdf
Kehler, A., Verwood, R., & Smith, H. (2017). We are the process: Reflections on the underestimation of power in students as partners in practice. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i1.3176
Könings, K., Mordang, S., Smeenk, F., Stassen, L. & Ramani, S. (2021). Learner involvement in the co-creation of teaching and learning: AMEE Guide No. 138, Medical Teacher, 43(8), 924-936, https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1838464
Lenihan-Ikin, I., Olsen, B., Sutherland, K.A., Tennent, E., & Wilson, M. (2020). Partnership as a civic process. In L. Mercer-Mapstone and S. Abbot (Eds.), The power of partnership: Students, staff and faculty revolutionizing higher education (pp. 87–98). Center for Engaged Learning, Elon University.
Lewis, D. I. (2017). Extracurricular partnerships as a tool for enhancing graduate employability. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i1.3052
Lubicz-Nawrocka, T. M. (2018). Students as partners in learning and teaching: The benefits of co-creation of the curriculum. International Journal for Students as Partners, 2(1), 47–63. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i1.3207
Lubicz-Nawrocka, T., & Bovill, C. (2021). Do students experience transformation through co-creating curriculum in higher education?. Teaching in Higher Education, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2021.1928060
Matthews, K. E. (2017). Five propositions for genuine students as partners practice. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(2), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i2.3315
Mckellow, C. (2019). Transforming midwifery education 3. Professional midwifery advocates in the university setting: preparing student midwives for newly qualified life. Practising Midwife, 22(10), 19–23. https://eprints.kingston.ac.uk/id/eprint/47302
Mercer-Mapstone, L., Dvorakova, S. L., Matthews, K. E., Abbot, S., Cheng, B., Felten, P., Knorr, K., Marquis, E., Shammas, R., & Swaim, K. (2017). A systematic literature review of students as partners in higher education. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i1.3119
Mertens, D. M. (1999). Transformative theory and inclusive evaluation. American Journal of Evaluation, 20(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/109821409902000102
Mertens, D. M. (2017). Transformative research: Personal and societal. International Journal for Transformative Research, 4(1), 18–24.
Mertens, D. M. (2019). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods (Vol. 5). Sage.
Meyer, J., & Land, R. (2005). Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (2): Epistemological considerations and a conceptual framework for teaching and learning. Higher Education, 49(3), 373–388. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-004-6779-5
Midwifery Council Aotearoa New Zealand (MCNZ). (2007). Competencies for entry to the Register of Midwives. https://www.midwiferycouncil.health.nz/common/Uploaded%20files/Registration/Competencies%20for%20entry%20to%20the%20Register.pdf
Midwifery Council Aotearoa New Zealand (MCNZ). (2012). Statement on cultural competence. https://www.midwiferycouncil.health.nz/common/Uploaded%20files/About%20Us/Statement%20on%20cultural%20competence.pdf
Mockler, N., & Groundwater-Smith, S. (2015). Student voice in higher education settings. In Engaging with student voice in research, education and community: Beyond legitimation and guardianship (pp. 93–106). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01985-7_8
Moeller, R., Seehuus, Seehuus, M. & Peisch V. (2020). Emotional Intelligence, Belongingness, and Mental Health in College Students. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(93), https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00093
Murdoch, D., English, A. R., Hintz, A., & Tyson, K. (2020). Feeling heard: Inclusive education, transformative learning, and productive struggle. Educational Theory, 70(5), 653–679. https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.12449
Natarajan, S. (2013). Naming threshold concepts as a threshold for student-faculty partnerships. Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education, 1(9), https://repository.brynmawr.edu/tlthe/vol1/iss9/18/
New Zealand College of Midwives. (2020). Midwifery: A partnership model. https://www.midwife.org.nz/midwives/midwifery-in-new-zealand/
Neve, H. (2019). Learning to become a primary care professional: insights from threshold concept theory. Education for Primary Care, 30(1), 5-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/14739879.2018.1533390
Officer, T. & McBride-Henry, K. (2021). Perceptions of underlying practice hierarchies: Who is managing my care? BMC Health Services Research, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06931-1
O'Shea, A., Boaz, A. & Chambers, M, (2019). A hierarchy of power: The place of patient and public involvement in healthcare service development. Frontiers of Sociology, 4(38), https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2019.00038
Parker, B. A., & Grech, C. (2018). Authentic practice environments to support undergraduate nursing students’ readiness for hospital placements. A new model of practice in an on campus simulated hospital and health service. Nurse Education in Practice, 33, 47–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2018.08.012
Pereira, J. V.-B., Vassil, J. C., & Thompson, R. E. (2020). Students as partners in an Australian medical program: Impact on student partners and teachers. International Journal for Students as Partners, 4(2), 110–121. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v4i2.4175
Radević, I., Dimovski, V., Lojpur, A., & Colnar, S. (2021). Quality of healthcare services in focus: the role of knowledge transfer, hierarchical organizational structure and trust. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/14778238.2021.1932623
Reinholz, D. L., Pawlak, A., Ngai, C., & Pilgrim, M. (2020). Departmental action teams: Empowering students as change agents in academic departments. International Journal for Students as Partners, 4(1), 128–137. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v4i1.3869
Reyes, V., & Adams, K. (2017). Navigating a Difficult Journey: Reflections on How a Student-Faculty Partnership Helped Address Racial Tensions in a Social Science Course. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i2.3262
Seale, J., Gibson, S., Haynes, J., & Potter, A. (2015). Power and resistance: Reflections on the rhetoric and reality of using participatory methods to promote student voice and engagement in higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 39(4), 534–552. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2014.938264
Sidebotham, M., McKellar, L., Walters, C., Gilkison, A., Davis, D., & Gamble, J. (2020). Identifying the priorities for midwifery education across Australia and New Zealand: A Delphi study. Women and Birth, 43(2), 136–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2020.05.011
Sterenberg, G., O'Connor, K., Donnelly, A., & Drader, R. (2018). Research assistants’ experiences of co-creating partnership learning communities for learning and teaching in higher education. International Journal for Students as Partners, 2(1), 97–111. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i1.3196
Te Puni Kōkiri (2002). He Tirohanga o Kawa ki te Tiriti/A guide to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi as expressed by the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal.
Tracy, S. J. (2010). Qualitative Quality: Eight “Big-Tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10), 837-851. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800410383121
Victoria University of Wellington (VUW). (2017). Learning and teaching strategy- Te Rautaki Maruako 2017–2021. https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/documents/policy/strategies/learning-teaching-strategy.pdf
Werder, C., Thibou, S., & Kaufer, B. (2012). Students as co-inquirers: A requisite threshold concept in educational development? Journal of Faculty Development, 26(2), 34–38. Retrieved from www.magnapubs.com
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Allison Anderson, Diana Austin, Christina Walton, Amanda Wood, Andrea Houlihan, Ella Hard, Kealey Bailey
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process - this applies to the submitted, accepted, and published versions of the manuscript. This can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access).
