Pedagogical Partnerships: Collaborations for Positive Student Outcomes

Abstract

This chapter reports on a case study that explored the contributions of professional staff to student outcomes at one Australian university. This case study examined the practices of professional staff in their day-to-day work and analyzed their behaviors in relation to student outcomes. The research design used a two-stage process involving the development of a framework for analysis, followed by an in-depth exploration of self-reported behaviors for a range of professional staff roles. From the second stage interview data, a conceptualization, professional staff pedagogical partnerships, was developed to describe and analyze the work of professional staff in relation to student outcomes. Four domains were identified as enablers or inhibitors to the formation of pedagogical partnerships. Pedagogical partnerships provides a theorization of the working lives of professional staff, the changing and increasing complexity of their roles, and the contributions professional staff make to student outcomes. Finally, recommendations for changes to the structure of professional and academic positions are discussed, which represent a revolutionary change towards a twenty-first-century model that could liberate the potential of all university staff.