The practice of relationality in classrooms: beyond relational pedagogy as empty signifier

ABSTRACT

This paper draws on findings from a wider project examining ‘relational pedagogies’ within Australian secondary schools. The paper considers the growing use of the ‘relationships’ concept as a descriptor of specific teaching practices. Normative descriptions of ‘relationships’ (and concordant descriptions of relational pedagogies) can be at odds with the empirical realities inherent to classroom practice. This paper suggests that accounts of the relational should consider the ‘context’ and the ‘immediacy’ of the relationships made possible in classroom settings. Arguing that designations of relational pedagogy require (i) consideration of the ‘empirical realities’ that contextualise pedagogical encounters and (ii) reflexive appraisals of teacher and student positionality, this paper draws on descriptions of relational pedagogy offered by a group of teacher–participants to illustrate the various ways that the ‘relationships’ concept gains form. The analysis outlined in this paper demonstrates that teachers define and enact relational pedagogies in idiosyncratic ways within their classrooms, rendering normative a priori conceptualisations of the ‘relationships’ concept incomplete and prone to irrelevance.

KEYWORDS:

• Pedagogy
• relationality
• student engagement
• schooling
• relationships

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Andrew Hickey

AndrewHickey is Professor in Communications in the School of Humanities and Communication at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. Andrew is also Chair of the University of Southern Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee and a Past President of the Cultural Studies Association of Australasia.

Stewart Riddle

Stewart Riddle is Associate Professor in Curriculum and Pedagogy in the School of Education at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. His research examines the democratisation of schooling systems, increasing access and equity in education and how schooling can respond to critical social issues in complex contemporary times.