The other side of a magic mirror: Exploring collegiality in student and staff partnership work

Scoles, Jenny; Huxham, Mark; Sinclair, Kelda; Lewis, Caroline; Jung, Julia; Dougall, Eoghen

Abstract

This article adds to the corpus of writing that examines collegiality's idealistic yet elusive nature in Higher Education by focusing
specifically on how collegiality can be enacted in student–staff partnership work. An innovative initiative, ‘Students as Colleagues
in the Review of Teaching Practices’, provides a case to qualitatively explore the collegial characteristics. Here, students reviewed
a paired staff member's teaching practice over one semester, as a peer review exercise. This shift in social roles troubles the
understanding of ‘peer’ and asks if authentic collegiality is possible. The study is conceptually framed by Fielding's notion of
‘radical collegiality’ and draws on standpoint theory and dialogic education to raise issues of power, mutual support and
productive tensions. The findings have implications for how Higher Education institutions can support student and staff to actively
engage in authentic collegial partnerships by developing relational and dialogic spaces, rather than just abstract institutional
infrastructures.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 1, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Oct 17, 2019
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Oct 1, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 18, 2021
• Print ISSN: 1356-2517
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 712-727
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2019.1677588
• Keywords: Radical collegiality; partnership; standpoint theory; dialogue; peer review
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2187985