Student–staff partnerships in learning and teaching: an overview of current practice and discourse

Abstract

Student-staff partnerships in learning and teaching are not a new idea, but have seen a growing interest and momentum in recent years. In this article, I provide an overview of the background and context of increased student-staff partnerships, a definition of partnership and some of the benefits. I highlight several examples of practice from different countries, universities and disciplines, and involving different numbers of students, which help to illustrate some of the variety of what is possible in student-staff partnerships in learning and teaching but also some of the challenges. I will focus on key ideas currently being debated in student-staff partnership work in the form of: theoretical framing; contested definitions; mixed motivations and concerns about partnership being co-opted by neoliberalism; the imperative of inclusion; and the role of student-staff relationships. I conclude by considering what ways geographers might contribute to future research and practice, by offering some practical strategies for establishing and maintaining good quality partnerships in learning and teaching and with suggestions for enhancing the community and culture within which we operate.

Student-faculty partnership in design: Evaluating a co-creation practice and sharing of findings within the South African higher education context

“…For as long as education exists, content creation has been considered the faculty's responsibility. However, Bovill (2019a;2019b) argues that this should no longer be the case.…”

Students as Partners: A New Ethos for the Transformation of Teacher and Student Identities in Chinese Higher Education

“…The picture of learning in higher education draws much of its inspiration from the 'student voice' movement in schools (Cook-Sather, 2018). SaP practices are evident across universities in the English speaking world (Bovill, 2019a) and have been widely implemented, such as students as collaborators in course design and SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) research at Elon University in the USA (Mihan, Long, & Felten, 2008), the students as partners program at the University of Queensland in Australia (Coombe, Huang, Russell, Sheppard, & Khosravi, 2018), students as co-designers of teaching resources at the University of Edinburgh in the UK (Harden & Fawhner, 2019), the Student Partner Program where students collaborate on SoTL projects at McMaster University in Canada (Marquis et al, 2016), and the Students as Learners and Teachers Program at Byrn Mawr College in the USA engaging students as pedagogical consultants (Cook-Sather & Abbot, 2016). SaP stretches the traditional boundaries of the curriculum where any space on campus becomes a pedagogical space where students and staff can learn together (Dwyer, 2018).…”

“…Partnership practices are complex (Bovill, 2019a) and SaP is a contested term and construct that describes many practices within the umbrella term of 'students as partners' (Cook-Sather, Matthews, Ntem, & Leathwick, 2018). Dunne (2016) collected more than 20 different terminologies used to describe partnership practices.…”

“…Thus, identity is discussed as fluid and changeable, and it is shaped and also shapes partnership as a process of relational identity formation between learners and teachers. For this reason, Bovill (2019a) argued that the teacher-student relationship is the basis for achieving meaningful partnership. The centrality of shifting identity, which is always entangled in the student-teacher educational power dynamics, is further evident in Matthews' (2017, p. 6) essay on genuine partnership where 'practitioners of SaP are first and foremost transforming their own realities' .…”

“…Therefore, in partnership, it requires teachers to recognise the value of students in the process of forming their identities. In this way, both students and teachers could gain valuable experiences in a mutual and reciprocal way (Bovill, 2019a). Linked to Kelchtermans's (2009) understanding of teacher identity, teachers shaped by partnership, who see themselves as both learners and teachers, are committed to maintaining a less hierarchical relationship with students.…”