Section
Student experience
Abstract
This study examines the insights and experiences of students about the factors that enhance relational pedagogy in a South African university. To provide empirical explanations as to how these insights could be prioritised to enhance effective teaching and learning, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 1087 participants using a survey that also required them to complete an open-ended section. The quantitative data was analysed using Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process, while the qualitative data was evaluated using thematic analysis. An analysis of the quantitative data revealed that the most significant factors that enhance relational pedagogy were, ethical care, interpersonal communication, natural care, respect, and mattering. Conversely, factors such as academic achievement support, trust, and teacher responsiveness showed comparatively weak effects on students’ perceptions of relational pedagogy. Similarly, the qualitative data analysed revealed that participants perceived teacher-student interaction and communication, mattering and teacher immediacy, and the ethics of care as the most significant themes that serve to enhance relational pedagogy in the learning environment. The study concludes by highlighting the implications of using relational pedagogy as a tool to address the social, cognitive, and cultural gaps in the teaching and learning processes.
Practitioner Notes
- Students acknowledge and understand the importance of relational pedagogy in higher education.
- Insights and experiences of students based on Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process show that ethical care, interpersonal communication, natural care, respect, and mattering serve as most significant factors that enhance relational pedagogy in the university.
- Based on the written narratives, participants perceived teacher-student interaction and communication, and the ethics of care as the most significant themes that enhance relational pedagogy.
- When teachers demonstrate ethical care, natural care, respect, mattering and also, promote interpersonal communication with students, they [students] derive maximum benefits from the teaching and learning processes.
- By using an empirical approach universities could prioritise the most significant factors that enhance relational pedagogies in the learning environment.
Recommended Citation
Owusu-Agyeman, Y., & Pillay, S. (2023). Insights and experiences of students about the factors that enhance relational pedagogy in higher education. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 20(6). https://doi.org/10.53761/1.20.6.20
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