Partnership in the Classroom: Engaging Students Through Inclusive Student-Teacher Relationships to Advance Social Justice

Tanya Lubicz-Nawrocka () and Xiuxiu Bao ()
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Tanya Lubicz-Nawrocka: Learning and Teaching Enhancement, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
Xiuxiu Bao: Moray House School of Education and Sport, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ, UK

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-21

Abstract: Student-teacher relationships matter in creating inclusive student engagement opportunities in higher education. Student engagement is a wide-ranging topic, and much of the existing literature discusses student course representation (where student leaders gather feedback and work with staff to enhance the quality of courses) and curriculum co-creation (where students and teachers partner in decision-making regarding aspects of a course) as two distinct approaches. However, there is a notable paucity of prior empirical research comparing the ways that student representation and curriculum co-creation can lead to different forms of relationship-building. Therefore, this qualitative study first examined student course representatives’ and co-creators’ perceptions of effective student-teacher relationships in courses, followed by an analysis of the differences in those relationships between teachers and (a) course representatives and (b) curriculum co-creators. We identified five elements of effective student-teacher relationships within the classroom context that help students feel included, connected, respected, valued, and inspired. We found that different communication structures inherent in course representation and curriculum co-creation yielded distinct contributions and risks in building inclusive student-teacher relationships. To deepen understanding of inclusive student engagement, we explore opportunities to enhance these relationships and work towards meaningful partnerships between students and teachers that can advance social justice.

Keywords: inclusion; student engagement; student representation; curriculum co-creation; student partnership; social justice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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