Students as partners in China: Investigating the potentials and possibilities for growing practices across universities

Abstract

There is a small but growing body of literature about engaging students as partners (SaP) in Asian countries. To further collective understanding of learner-teacher partnership practices in China, we invited undergraduate students and academics from three Chinese universities to complete a survey on their involvement in, and sense of importance of, 17 practices that align with SaP activities. The 402 students and 85 academic staff who engaged in the survey reported high levels of agreement about the importance of such practices that foster learner-teacher interactions although levels of involvement were lower. The findings demonstrate that SaP practices are unfolding in Chinese universities with evidence of a desire for growth of such activities. Our findings reveal potentials and possibilities for growing such practices in Chinese universities while raising questions about the underlying drivers and values motivating increased interest in learner-teacher interactions that warrant further qualitative research.

Estudiantes como Socios en la Educación Superior: Beneficios, Desafíos y Recomendaciones

“…El enfoque de SaP puede tener varias implicaciones para la cultura institucional. Puede requerir un cambio en las actitudes y creencias sobre los estudiantes, un cambio en las prácticas de enseñanza y aprendizaje, y un cambio en las estructuras y políticas de la institución (Bonney, 2018;Bovill et al, 2014;Bryson, 2016;Liang & Matthews, 2021;Little, 2012;Lubicz-Nawrocka, 2023;Miles & Power, 2017;O'Shea et al, 2022;Pereira et al, 2020;Salisbury et al, 2020;Whelehan, 2020). La mentalidad tradicional de la educación superior se basa en una relación jerárquica entre profesores-administradores y estudiantes.…”

Building co-curricular learning experiences: Lessons from a student-driven experiential learning initiative underpinned by a student-staff collaborative model

“…This case study aims to make sense of GLC directors' real-life instances and experiences by shedding light on how the co-author, as a student, experiences and perceives such student-staff collaboration in the context of GLC and the above five criteria. While there has been a growing body of literature examining staff-student partnerships, most partnerships are framed in the Western context, while only a few can be found in the Chinese context (e.g., Ho, 2017;Liang et al, 2020;Liang & Matthews, 2021). However, Healey, Flint, and Harrington (2016) comment that research should be further extended and theorised to much broader contexts and ways in which partnerships may take place.…”