Reflections of students and staff in a project-led partnership: Contextualised experiences of students-as-partners

Authors

  • Seb Dianati The University of Queensland
  • Yvonne Oberhollenzer Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of Queensland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v4i1.3974

Keywords:

student as partners, contextualised partnership, non-academic partnerships, staff experiences, student experiences

Abstract

For many years, the methods of teaching and learning have remained relatively unchanged, with teachers bestowing knowledge to their students in a one-way hierarchical approach to learning. However, Student as Partners (SaP) as a concept and an ideology aims to disrupt traditional power structures of learning to offer a shared space where students become co-creators of change. This research reflects on one particular SaP project, a small-scale, project-based, institutionally resourced partnership whereby 14 students collaborated alongside 3 staff members to enhance the quality of the student experience at an Australian university. The current study aims to explore what factors mediate newly formed student-staff partnerships. Using a qualitative thematic approach, the paper draws from various online surveys to share particular contextualised experiences of student-staff partnerships. These include: learning together and navigating power dynamics, opportunities to build relationships, and balancing work and study. They became the specific strategies that mediated effective partnership. The implications of these themes highlighted that the context-dependent nature of SaP should be realised in an effort to develop institutionally appropriate practices.

 

 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Barrineau, S., Schnaas, U., Engström, A., & Härlin, F. (2015). Breaking ground and building bridges: A critical reflection on student-faculty partnerships in academic development. International Journal for Academic Development, 21(1), 79-83. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2015.1120735
Bovill, C., Cook‐Sather, A., & Felten, P. (2011). Students as co‐creators of teaching approaches, course design, and curricula: Implications for academic developers. International Journal for Academic Development, 16(2), 133-145. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2011.568690
Bryson, C. (2016). Engagement through partnership: students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. International Journal for Academic Development, 21(1), 84-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2016.1124966
Cliffe, A., Cook-Sather, A., Healey, M., Healey, R., Marquis, E., Matthews, K. E., Mercer-Mapstone, L., Ntem, A., Puri, V., & Woolmer, C. (2017). Launching a journal about and through students as partners. International journal for Students as Partners, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i1.3194
Cook-Sather, A. (2010). Students as Learners and Teachers: taking responsibility, transforming education, and redefining accountability. Curriculum Inquiry, 40(4), 555-575. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-873X.2010.00501.x
Cook-Sather, A. (2014a). 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. (2014b). The trajectory of student voice in educational research. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 49(2), 131-148. Retrieved from https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=842480978608459;res=IELNZC
Cook-Sather, A. (2014c). Undergraduate students as partners in new faculty orientation and academic development. International Journal for Academic Development, 21(2), 151-162. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2016.1156543
Cook-Sather, A. (2018). Developing “Students as Learners and Teachers”: Lessons from ten years of pedagogical partnership that strives to foster inclusive and responsive practice. The Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.21100/jeipc.v4i1.746
Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., & Felten, P. (2014). Engaging students as partners in learning and teaching: A guide for faculty: John Wiley & Sons.
Cook-Sather, A., Matthews, K. E., Ntem, A., & Leathwick, S. (2018). What we talk about when we talk about students as partners. International Journal for Students as Partners, 2(2), 1-9.
https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i2.3790
Cousin, G. (2010). Neither teacher-centred nor student-centred: Threshold concepts and research partnerships. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education (2). Retrieved from http://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe/article/view/64
Dunne, E., & Zandstra, R. (2011). Students as change agents: New ways of engaging with learning and teaching in higher education. England: EsCalate/Higher education Academy Publication. Retrieved from https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/14767
Dwyer, A. (2018). Toward the formation of genuine partnership spaces. International Journal for Students as Partners, 2(1), 11-15. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i1.3503
Fielding, M. (2001). Beyond the rhetoric of student voice: New departures or new constraints in the transformation of 21st century schooling? Paper presented at the Forum for promoting 3-19 comprehensive education. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michael_Fielding/publication/245584644_Beyond_the_Rhetoric_of_Student_Voice_new_departures_or_new_constraints_in_the_transformation_of_21st_century_schooling/links/5471bf360cf216f8cfad144a.pdf
Fielding, M. (2004). Transformative approaches to student voice: Theoretical underpinnings, recalcitrant realities. British educational research journal, 30(2), 295-311. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141192042000195236
Fielding M. (2011) Patterns of Partnership: Student voice, intergenerational learning and democratic fellowship. In: Mockler N., Sachs J. (eds) Rethinking educational practice through reflexive inquiry. Professional Learning and Development in Schools and Higher Education, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0805-1_5
Gibbs, G. (2010). The importance of context in understanding teaching and learning:
Reflections on thirty five years of pedagogic research. Keynote presented at the
International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching Annual Conference, Liverpool,
UK. Retrieved from http://issotl10.indiana.edu/plenary.html
Glasser, H., & Powers, M. (2011). Disrupting traditional student-faculty roles, 140 characters at a time. Teaching and Learning together in higher education, 1(2), 5.
Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2014). Engagement through partnership: Students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. York, UK: The Higher Education Academy. Retrieved from https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/engagement-through-partnership-students-partners-learning-and-teaching-higher
Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2016). Students as Partners: Reflections on a conceptual model. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 4(2). Retrieved from https://jmss.org/index.php/TLI/article/view/57438
Healey, M., & Healey, R. (2018). 'It depends': Exploring the context-dependent nature of students as partners practices and policies. International Journal for Students as Partners, 2(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i1.3472
Jensen, K., & Bennett, L. (2016). Enhancing teaching and learning through dialogue: A student and staff partnership model. International Journal for Academic Development, 21(1), 41-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2015.1113537
Marquis, E., Puri, V., Wan, S., Ahmad, A., Goff, L., Knorr, K., Vassileva, I., & Woo, J. (2016). Navigating the threshold of student–staff partnerships: A case study from an Ontario teaching and learning institute. International Journal for Academic Development, 21(1), 4-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2015.1113538
Marquis, E., Jayaratnam, A., Mishra, A., & Rybkina, K. (2018). “I feel like some students are better connected”: Students’ perspectives on applying for extracurricular partnership opportunities. International Journal for Students as Partners, 2(1), 64-81. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i1.3300
Matthews, K. E., Dwyer, A., Hine, L., & Turner, J. (2018). Conceptions of students as partners. Higher Education, 76, 957-971. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0257-y
Mercer-Mapstone, L., Dvorakova, S. L., Matthews, K., 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
Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Patton, M. Q. (2005). Qualitative research. Encyclopedia of statistics in behavioral science. https://doi.org/10.1002/0470013192.bsa514
Williamson, M. (2013). Guidance on the development and implementation of a student partnership agreement in universities. Student Participation in Quality Scotland. Retreived from https://www.sparqs.ac.uk/upfiles/Student%20Partnership%20Agreement%20Guidance%20-%20final%20version.pdf

Downloads

Published

2020-04-09

How to Cite

Dianati, S., & Oberhollenzer, Y. (2020). Reflections of students and staff in a project-led partnership: Contextualised experiences of students-as-partners. International Journal for Students As Partners, 4(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v4i1.3974

Issue

Section

Research Articles