How is Teachers’ Relational Competence Manifested in Online Higher Education Contexts?
Keywords:
teacher-student relationships, teachers’ relational competence, online-teaching, higher education, teacher education
Abstract
Research shows that the teacher-student relationship is a critical factor in students’ learning and development in both traditional and online classrooms. However, research on teachers’ relational competence in online higher education contexts is scarce. The present exploratory study aims to identify manifestations of teachers’ relational competence in such contexts, focusing on teaching in ongoing interactions. Data were collected from three online seminars conducted during year two of special-education teacher training through a university in Sweden; approximately eight hours of video-recorded material was collected. The findings indicate that the teachers’ relational competence is manifested in practice along five main themes: open-ended questions, respectful responses, personal connection, social framing, and humor. We propose that these five themes are important to acknowledge regarding teacher-student relationships in online teaching in higher education. On a more comprehensive level, the article suggests that teachers’ relational competence is an important feature in this educational context also. The results are discussed in light of previous research. Overall, the study contributes by outlining how teachers’ relational competence is manifested in ongoing interactions in pedagogical practice online. Implications for practice and further research are then discussed.
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References
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Aspelin, J., & Jonsson, A. (2019). Relational Competence in Teacher Education. Concept analysis and Report from a Pilot Study. Teacher Development, 23(2), 264-283. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2019.1570323
Aspelin, J., Östlund, D., & Jönsson, A. (2021). Pre-service educators’ understandings of relational competence. Frontiers in Education: Teacher Education, online first: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.678793
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Derry, S. J., Pea, R. D., Barron, B., Engle, R. A., Erickson, F., Goldman, R., & Sherin, B. L. (2010). Conducting video research in the learning sciences: Guidance on selection, analysis, technology, and ethics. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 19(1), 3-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508400903452884
Ewe, L. P. (2019). ADHD symptoms and the teacher-student relationship: A systematic literature review. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 24(2), 136-155. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2019.1597562
García-Moya, I., Brooks, F., & Moreno, C. (2020). Humanizing and conducive to learning: An adolescent students’ perspective on the central attributes of positive relationships with teachers. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 35(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-019-00413-z
Goodwin, H. C. (1981). Conversational organization: Interaction between speakers and listeners. Cambridge: Academic Press.
Hagenauer, G., & Volet, S. E. (2014). Teacher–student relationship at university: An important yet under-researched field. Oxford Review of Education, 40(3), 370-388. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2014.921613
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Montelongo, R., & Eaton, P. W. (2019). Strategies and reflections on teaching diversity in digital space(s). In L. Kyei-Blankson, J. Blankson & E. Ntuli (Eds.), Care and culturally responsive pedagogy in online settings (pp. 41-62). IGI Global.
Nielsen, A. M., & Fibaek Laursen, P. (2016). Relationskompetence og Klasseledelse I Laereruddannelse [relational competence and classroom management in teacher education]. In E. Skibsted & N. Matthiesen (Eds.), Relationskompetencer I Laereruddannelse og skole [Relational Competence in Teacher Education and School] (43-70). Dafolo.
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Oatley, K. (2004). Emotions, A brief history. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Rimm-Kaufman, S. E., Voorhees, M. D., Snell, M. E., & La Paro, K. M. (2003). Improving the sensitivity and responsivity of preservice teachers toward young children with disabilities. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 23(3), 151-163. https://doi.org/10.1177/02711214030230030501
Roorda, D. L., Jak, S., Zee, M., Oort, F. J., & Koomen, H. M. Y. (2017). Affective teacher–student relationships and students’ engagement and achievement: A meta-analytic update and test of the mediating role of engagement. School Psychology Review, 46(3), 239-261. https://doi.org/10.17105/SPR-2017-0035.V46-3
Sabol, T. J., & Pianta, R. C. (2012). Recent trends in research on teacher-child relationships. Attachment and Human Development, 14(3), 213-231. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2012.672262
Scheff, T. J. (1990). Microsociology: Discourse, emotion and social structure. The University of Chicago Press.
Segerby, C. (2022). Exploring How a University Mathematics Teacher’s Digital Relational Competence Can Be Manifested: A Micro-Analytical Study. Education Sciences, 12(4), 257. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12040257
Skibsted, E., & Matthiesen, N. (Eds.). (2016). Relationskompetencer i Laereruddannelse og Skole. [Relational competence in teacher education and school]. Dafolo.
Song, H., Kim, J., & Luo, W. (2016). Teacher-student relationship in online classes: A role of teacher self-disclosure. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 436-443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.037
Tormey, R. (2021). Rethinking student–teacher relationships in higher education: A multidimensional approach. Higher Education, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00711-w
Vetenskapsrådet. (2002). Forskningsetiska principer inom humanistisk-samhällsvetenskaplig forskning. Elanders Gotab.
Wiklund-Engblom, A. (2018). Digital relational competence: Sensitivity and responsivity to needs of distance and co-located students [Seminar].net. https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/seminar/article/view/2979, 14(2) (pp. 188-200). https://doi.org/10.7577/seminar.2979.
Aspelin, J. (2006). Beneath the surface of classroom interaction: reflections on the microworld of education. Social Psychology of Education, 9(3), 227-244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-006-0008-2
Aspelin, J. (2017). ‘We can recite it in Chorus Now!’: An Interactionist Approach to the Teacher-Student Relationship and Teachers Relational Competence. Classroom Discourse, 8(1), 55-70. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463014.2016.1271991
Aspelin, J., & Jonsson, A. (2019). Relational Competence in Teacher Education. Concept analysis and Report from a Pilot Study. Teacher Development, 23(2), 264-283. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2019.1570323
Aspelin, J., Östlund, D., & Jönsson, A. (2021). Pre-service educators’ understandings of relational competence. Frontiers in Education: Teacher Education, online first: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.678793
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Derry, S. J., Pea, R. D., Barron, B., Engle, R. A., Erickson, F., Goldman, R., & Sherin, B. L. (2010). Conducting video research in the learning sciences: Guidance on selection, analysis, technology, and ethics. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 19(1), 3-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508400903452884
Ewe, L. P. (2019). ADHD symptoms and the teacher-student relationship: A systematic literature review. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 24(2), 136-155. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2019.1597562
García-Moya, I., Brooks, F., & Moreno, C. (2020). Humanizing and conducive to learning: An adolescent students’ perspective on the central attributes of positive relationships with teachers. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 35(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-019-00413-z
Goodwin, H. C. (1981). Conversational organization: Interaction between speakers and listeners. Cambridge: Academic Press.
Hagenauer, G., & Volet, S. E. (2014). Teacher–student relationship at university: An important yet under-researched field. Oxford Review of Education, 40(3), 370-388. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2014.921613
Hebebci, M. T., Bertiz, Y., & Alan, S. (2020). Investigation of Views of Students and Teachers on Distance Education Practices during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. International Journal of Technology in Education and Science, 4(4), 267. https://go.exlibris.link/WDbdyfyc
Hughes, J. N. (2012). Teacher–student relationships and school adjustment: Progress and remaining challenges. Attachment and Human Development, 14(3), 319-327. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2012.672288
Jensen, L., Price, L., & Roxå, T. (2020). Seeing through the eyes of a teacher: differences in perceptions of HE teaching in face-to-face and digital contexts. Studies in Higher Education, 45(6), 1149-1159. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1688280
Kleinknecht, M., & Gröschner, A. (2016). Fostering preservice teachers’ noticing with structured video feedback: Results of an online- and video-based intervention study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 59, 45-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.05.020
Klinge, L. (2016). Lærerens relationskompetence: En empirisk undersøgelse af, hvordan lærerens relationskompetence viser sig i interaktioner med elever og klasser I almenundervisningen i folkeskolen [Teachers’s relational competence: An empirical study of how the teacher’s relational competence turns out in interactions with pupils and classes in general education in primary school] [Doctoral Dissertation]. Det Humanistiske Fakultet, Københavns Universitet.
Matuszczyk, J., Johansson, K., & Schüler, M. (2020). The student learning context during a pandemic. In VILÄR. 3-4 December 2020 University West, Trollhättan (pp. 28-30). Högskolan Väst.
Montelongo, R., & Eaton, P. W. (2019). Strategies and reflections on teaching diversity in digital space(s). In L. Kyei-Blankson, J. Blankson & E. Ntuli (Eds.), Care and culturally responsive pedagogy in online settings (pp. 41-62). IGI Global.
Nielsen, A. M., & Fibaek Laursen, P. (2016). Relationskompetence og Klasseledelse I Laereruddannelse [relational competence and classroom management in teacher education]. In E. Skibsted & N. Matthiesen (Eds.), Relationskompetencer I Laereruddannelse og skole [Relational Competence in Teacher Education and School] (43-70). Dafolo.
Nordenbo, S. E., Larsen, M. S., Tiftikçi, N., Wendt, R. E., & Østergaard, S. (2008). Laererkompetenser og Elevers laering i Förskole og Skole. [Ett Systematisk review Utfört for Kunnskapsdepartementet, Oslo] [Teacher Competences and Student Achievement in Pre-school and School; in Danish]. Danmarks Paedagogiske Universitetsskole and Danish clearinghouse for educational research.
Oatley, K. (2004). Emotions, A brief history. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Rimm-Kaufman, S. E., Voorhees, M. D., Snell, M. E., & La Paro, K. M. (2003). Improving the sensitivity and responsivity of preservice teachers toward young children with disabilities. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 23(3), 151-163. https://doi.org/10.1177/02711214030230030501
Roorda, D. L., Jak, S., Zee, M., Oort, F. J., & Koomen, H. M. Y. (2017). Affective teacher–student relationships and students’ engagement and achievement: A meta-analytic update and test of the mediating role of engagement. School Psychology Review, 46(3), 239-261. https://doi.org/10.17105/SPR-2017-0035.V46-3
Sabol, T. J., & Pianta, R. C. (2012). Recent trends in research on teacher-child relationships. Attachment and Human Development, 14(3), 213-231. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2012.672262
Scheff, T. J. (1990). Microsociology: Discourse, emotion and social structure. The University of Chicago Press.
Segerby, C. (2022). Exploring How a University Mathematics Teacher’s Digital Relational Competence Can Be Manifested: A Micro-Analytical Study. Education Sciences, 12(4), 257. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12040257
Skibsted, E., & Matthiesen, N. (Eds.). (2016). Relationskompetencer i Laereruddannelse og Skole. [Relational competence in teacher education and school]. Dafolo.
Song, H., Kim, J., & Luo, W. (2016). Teacher-student relationship in online classes: A role of teacher self-disclosure. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 436-443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.037
Tormey, R. (2021). Rethinking student–teacher relationships in higher education: A multidimensional approach. Higher Education, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00711-w
Vetenskapsrådet. (2002). Forskningsetiska principer inom humanistisk-samhällsvetenskaplig forskning. Elanders Gotab.
Wiklund-Engblom, A. (2018). Digital relational competence: Sensitivity and responsivity to needs of distance and co-located students [Seminar].net. https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/seminar/article/view/2979, 14(2) (pp. 188-200). https://doi.org/10.7577/seminar.2979.
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2023-06-22
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