Abstract
The Australian Government’s policy to transform higher education by 2020 includes plans to significantly raise the levels of undergraduate enrolment by people of low socio-economic status. In light of this policy direction, this article examines how a group of undergraduate students of low socio-economic status work to maintain their desire for learning and to remain included in the university system despite experiencing cultural processes of exclusion. As the students reflect on the cultural and pedagogical conditions that promote, support and enhance their participation and engagement in higher education, a picture emerges of the importance of students’ relationships with academics. Whilst positive relationships help students to remain engaged, negative experiences work against continuing participation and engagement. Given the desire of the Australian government to increase participation in higher education by students from under-represented groups, this research identifies some challenges and possibilities for both universities and academics.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adibi, H., & Lawson, D. (2004). Transition and attrition: A sociological investigation. Making connections: Transition to university [Electronic version]. Queensland University of Technology. Retrieved September 10, 2008, from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/archive/00000791/01.
Alexander, B., Anderson, G., & Gallegos, B. (2005). Performance theories in education. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Andrews, L. (1999). Does HECS Deter? Factors affecting university participation by low SES groups: Occasional Paper Series, No. 99/F. Canberra: Higher Education Division, Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008). Australian Social Trends, Cat. No. 4102.0. Retrieved January 12, 2009, from AusStats database http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS.
Bergerson, A. (2007). Exploring the impact of social class on adjustment to college: Anna’s story. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 20(1), 99–119.
Biesta, G. (2004). ‘Mind the gap!’ Communication and the educational relation. In C. Bingham & A. Sidorkin (Eds.), No education without relation (pp. 11–22). New York: Peter Lang.
Bingham, C., & Sidorkin, A. (2004). No education without relation. New York: Peter Lang.
Blackburn, R., & Lawrence, J. (1995). Faculty at work: Motivation, expectation, satisfaction. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Bradley, D., Noonan, P., Nugent, H., & Scales, B. (2008). Review of Australian higher education. Canberra: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Brookfield, S. D. (1995). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Bryk, A., & Schneider, B. (2002). Trust in schools: A core resource for improvement. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Burgess, R. G. (1988). Conversations with a purpose: The ethnographic interview in educational research. Studies in Qualitative Methodology, 1, 137–155.
Chomsky, N. (1999). Profit over people: Neoliberalism and the global order. New York: Seven Stories Press.
Cortazzi, M. (2005). Narrative analysis in ethnography. In P. Atkinson, A. Coffey, S. Delamont, J. Lofland, & L. Lofland (Eds.), Handbook of ethnography (pp. 384–394). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Department of Education Science and Training (2001). Undergraduate completion rates: An update, Occasional Paper Series, No. 01/F. DEST. Retrieved August 29, 2008, from http://www.dest.gov.au/archive/highered/occpaper/01f/default.htm.
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education. New York: The Free Press.
Etzkowitz, H., Webster, A., & Healy, P. (Eds.). (1998). Capitalizing knowledge: New intersections of industry and academia. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Freire, P. (2000 [1970]). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.
Gallegos, B. (2005). Performing school in the shadow of imperialism: A hybrid (coyote) interpretation. In B. Alexander, G. Anderson, & B. Gallegos (Eds.), Performance theories in education (pp. 107–126). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Giroux, H. (2000). Cultural politics and the crisis of the university. Retrieved November 3, 2007, from: http://culturemachine.tees.ac.uk/cmach/backissues/j002/articles_giro.htm.
Giroux, H. (2004). The terror of neo-liberalism: Authoritarianism and the eclipse of democracy. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.
Giroux, H. (2007). The university in chains: Confronting the military–industrial–academic complex. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.
Gonzalez, N., & Moll, L. (2002). Cruzando el Puentee: Building bridges to funds of knowledge. Educational Policy, 16(4), 623–641.
Hill, D. (2003). Global neo-liberalism, the deformation of education and resistance. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies. Retrieved August 15, 2006, from the World Wide Web: http://www.jceps.com/print.php?articleID=7.
hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress. New York: Routledge.
hooks, b. (2009). Belonging: A culture of place. New York: Routledge.
Horstmanshof, L. & Zimitat, C. (2003). Elaboration of the student self and persistence in higher education. Educational research, risks and dilemmas. AARE/NZARE joint conference. 29 November–3 December, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
James, R. (2001). Participation disadvantage in Australian higher education: An analysis of some effects of geographical location and socio-economic status. Higher Education, 42(4), 455–472.
James, R. (2002). Socioeconomic background and higher education participation: An analysis of school students’ aspirations and expectations. Canberra: Department of Education, Science and Training.
Longden, B. (2004). Interpreting student early departure from higher education through the lens of cultural capital. Tertiary Education and Management, 10, 121–138.
Lynch, K., & O’Riordan, C. (1998). Inequality in higher education: A study of class barriers. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 19(4), 445–478.
MacKenzie, L. (1998). A pedagogy of respect: Teaching as an ally of working-class college students. In A. Shepard, J. McMillan, & G. Tate (Eds.), Coming to class: Pedagogy and the social class of teachers (pp. 94–117). Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook Publishers.
Marginson, S. (1993). Education and public policy in Australia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Marginson, S. (2008). Trends and issues in Australian higher education participation. Forum on higher education and social inclusion. 16 July, University of Melbourne, Australia. Retrieved January 21, 2009, from http://www.go8.edu.au/storage/events/2008/social_inclusion_presentations.
Margonis, F. (2004). From student resistance to educative engagement: A case study in building powerful teacher–student relationships. In C. Bingham & A. Sidorkin (Eds.), No education without relation (pp. 39–53). New York: Peter Lang.
Nocella, A., Best, S., & McLaren, P. (2010). Academic repression: Reflections from the academic industrial complex. Oakland: AK Press.
Pearce, J., Down, B., & Moore, E. (2008). Social class, identity and the ‘good’ student: Negotiating university culture. Australian Journal of Education, 52(3), 257–271.
Popkewitz, T. (1999). Critical traditions, modernisms, and the ‘posts’. In T. Popkewitz & L. Fendler (Eds.), Critical theories in education (pp. 1–13). New York: Routledge.
Saul, J. R. (2005). The collapse of globalism and the reinvention of the world. Camberwell: Penguin Books.
Shepard, A., McMillan, J., & Tate, G. (1998). Coming to class: Pedagogy and the social class of teachers. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook Publishers.
Shor, I. (1992). Empowering education: Critical teaching for social change. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Shumar, W. (1995). Higher education and the state: The irony of fordism in American universities. In J. Smyth (Ed.), Academic work: The changing labour process in higher education. Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.
Sidorkin, A. (2002). Learning relations. Impure education, deschooled schools and dialogue with evil. New York: Peter Lang.
Smyth, J. (Ed.). (1995). Academic work: The changing labour process in higher education. Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.
Smyth, J., Angus, L., Down, B., & McInerney, P. (2009). Activist and socially critical school and community renewal: Social justice in exploitative times. Rotterdam: Sense Publishing.
Teese, R. (2000). Academic success and social power: Examinations and inequality. Carlton: Melbourne University Press.
Teese, R., & Polesel, J. (2003). Undemocratic schooling: Equity and quality in mass secondary education in Australia. Carlton: Melbourne University Press.
Townsend, R. (2008). Adult education, social inclusion and cultural diversity in regional communities. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 48(1), 71–92.
Valencia, R. (2010). Dismantling contemporary deficit thinking: Educational thought and practice. New York: Routledge.
Vinson, T. (2007). Dropping off the edge: The distribution of disadvantage in Australia. Richmond: Jesuit Social Services/Catholic Social Services Australia.
Warren, M. (2005). Communities and schools: A new view of urban school reform. Harvard Educational Review, 75(2), 133–173.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pearce, J., Down, B. Relational pedagogy for student engagement and success at university. Aust. Educ. Res. 38, 483–494 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-011-0037-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-011-0037-5