‘I feel like being a student consultant literally gave me a voice’: A cross-context case study of how approaches to engaging the student voice have evolved in three US student-staff partnership programmes

Authors

  • Alison Cook-Sather Bryn Mawr College
  • Aaniyah Alexander Bryn Mawr College
  • Adriana Signorini
  • Téa Pusey
  • Jacques Safari Mwayaona
  • Jessica Robinson

Keywords:

Student Voice, Cross-context, Student-staff partnership

Abstract

Student voice is one of the foundational principles of student-staff pedagogical partnership in US institutions of higher education. In this cross-context, practice-based case study, we present examples of how pedagogical partnership programmes at three institutions of higher education in the US have evolved over time in engaging the student voice. The case study is co-authored by three staff members who facilitate pedagogical partnership work in these three programmes, as well as a student partner from each context. After describing the ways our respective partnership programmes have evolved, we look across all three examples to identify insights that might inform other partnership programmes’ approaches to engaging with the student voice going forward. We emphasise themes of equity and inclusion, within various structures and through multiple approaches, that can support dynamic and effective learner/teacher relationships. Guiding all of these is a commitment to seeking, in partnership with students, new areas of focus—program design, pedagogical practice, curricular development, feedback—and media of communication to be informed by student voice.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Alison Cook-Sather, Bryn Mawr College

Alison Cook-Sather is Mary Katharine Woodworth Professor of Education and director of The Teaching and Learning Institute at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges

Aaniyah Alexander, Bryn Mawr College

Aaniyah Alexander, class of 2025, is completing a double major in Political Science and Education Studies at Bryn Mawr College.

Adriana Signorini

Adriana Signorini, at the University of California-Merced, is the founder and director of the Students Assessing Teaching at Learning program.

Téa Pusey

Téa Pusey, UC Merced is a PhD student in the School of Education at UC Davis, researches justice-oriented STEM teaching in higher education.

Jacques Safari Mwayaona

Jacques Safari Mwayaona is a faculty development fellow, specializing in student-faculty partnerships and technology at the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence at Syracuse University

Jessica Robinson

Jessica Robinson, class of 2025, is completing a double major in Selected Studies at the School of Education and Psychology at Syracuse University.

References

Ameyaa, R. A., Cook-Sather, A., Ramo, K., & Tohfa, H. (2021). Undergraduate students partnering with faculty to develop trauma-informed, anti-racist pedagogical approaches: Intersecting experiences of three student partners. Journal of Innovation, Partnership and Change, 7, 1. https://journals.studentengagement.org.uk/index.php/studentchangeagents/article/view/1020

Bach, D., & Cook-Sather, A. (2016). Open space: Nurturing reflection, dialogue, and radical listening in higher education. The Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 27, 2, 97-116.

Bovill, C. (2019). A co-creation of learning and teaching typology: What kind of co-creation are you planning or doing? International Journal for Students as Partners, 3(2), 91–98. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v3i2.3953

Cook-Sather, A. (2022). Co-creating equitable teaching and learning: Structuring student voice into higher education. Harvard Education Press. https://www.hepg.org/hep-home/books/co-creating-equitable-teaching-and-learning

Cook-Sather, A. (2019, April). Radical listening: Developing capacity for attending and connecting within and beyond classrooms. Mount Holyoke, MA.

Cook-Sather, A. (2018). Developing “Students as Learners and Teachers”: Lessons from ten years of pedagogical partnership that strives to foster inclusive and responsive practice. Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change, 4, 1. https://journals.studentengagement.org.uk/index.php/studentchangeagents/article/view/746/pdf

Cook-Sather, A. (2015). Dialogue across differences of position, perspective, and identity: reflective practice in/on a student-faculty pedagogical partnership program. Teachers College Record, 117 (2).

Cook-Sather, A (2006). Sound, presence, and power: Exploring ‘student voice’ in educational research and reform. Curriculum Inquiry 36(4): 359–390.

Cook-Sather, A (2002). Authorizing students’ perspectives: Toward trust, dialogue, and change in education. Educational Researcher 31(4): 3–14.

Cook-Sather, A., Alexander, A., Bhutani, S., Black, S., DeClue, M. Hewitt, A., Joseph, A., Marino, N., Nguyen, V., & Papatheodorou, A. (2021). Co-creating a new anti-racist curricular requirement. National SAP Roundtable 2021. University of Western Sydney. [virtual] https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vZzmdbse66nIBjRuSXA8s_Z7Zdxykh2F9ZgIZCcTCds/edit?usp=sharing

Cook-Sather, A., Bahti, M., & Ntem, A. (2019). Pedagogical partnerships: A how-to guide for faculty, students, and academic developers in higher education. Elon University Center for Engaged Teaching Open Access Series. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/books/pedagogical-partnerships/

Cook-Sather, A. & Bala, N. (2022). When distance deepens connections: How intercollegiate partnership programs support empathetic, engaged, and equitable teaching approaches. Student Engagement in Higher Education Journal, 4, 2 https://sehej.raise-network.com/raise/article/view/1066

Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., & Felten, P. (2014). Engaging students as partners in learning and teaching: A guide for faculty. Jossey-Bass.

Cook-Sather, A., Cott, M., Seay, K., & Stewart, K. (2023). Pedagogical partnership as professional development for students. In The Bloomsbury Handbook of Student Voice in Higher Education, edited by Jerusha Conner, Rille Raaper, Carolina Guzmán-Valenzuela, and Launa Gauthier, 357–70. Bloomsbury Academic. http://www.bloomsburycollections.com/collections/encyclopedia-chapter

Cook-Sather, A., Felten, P., Stewart, K., & Weston, H. (2023). Reviving the construct of “mattering” in pursuit of equity and justice in higher education: Illustrations from mentoring and partnership programs. In E. Rueda & C. Lowe-Swift (Eds.), Academic Belonging in Higher Education: Fostering Student Connection, Competence, and Confidence. Routledge.

Dewey, J. (2016). Democracy and education.

Dulai, K., Kranzfelder, P., Signorini, A., Pusey, T., Presas Valencia, A., Urbina, C., & Oviedo, N. (2022). Collaborative Teaching Plus (CT+): A timely, flexible, and dynamic course design to improve instruction and the student learning experience in an introductory biology course. CBE Life Sciences Education. http://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.21-08-0199

Freire, P. (1990). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.

hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. http://faculty.bard.edu/hhaggard/teaching/sci127Sp20/notes/hooksTeachingToTransgress1.pdf

INSIGHT. (2024, November 14.) Higher education faces uncertain future under Trump’s return. Insight into Diversity.

https://www.insightintodiversity.com/higher-education-faces-uncertain-future-under-trumps-return/

Matthews, K. E. (2017). Five propositions for genuine students as partners practice. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(2), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i2.3315

O'Hara, M. (2015). Multiple iterations of partnership: My co-creation journey as a student and a teacher. Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education, 14. http://repository.brynmawr.edu/tlthe/vol1/iss14/4

Pusey, T., Presas, A., Signorini, A., & Kranzfelder, P. (2023). Breakout rooms, polling, and chat, Oh COPUS! The adaptation of COPUS for online synchronous learning. Research & Practice in Assessment, 18(1), 62-81.

Roth, M. (2024, November). Defending democracy, defending the university. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2024/11/01/defending-democracy-defending-university-opinion?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=cf19cce0e2-DNU_2021_COPY_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-cf19cce0e2-197314581&mc_cid=cf19cce0e2&mc_eid=9f3fa7023d#

Rudduck, J. & Fielding, M. (2006). Student voice and the perils of popularity. Educational Review, 58, 2, 219-231.

Signorini, A., Abuan, M., Pakkanal, G. & Dorantes, S. (2020). Students helping students provide valuable feedback on course evaluations. To Improve the Academy. A Journal of Educational Development.

Signorini, A. (2014). Assisting peers to provide constructive feedback. Assessment Update 26(6), 3-13 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/au.30002

Sutherland, K. A., Elgort, I., Symes, O., & van Zijl, C. (2023). Moving from student voice to agency: Sustainable pedagogical partnerships for higher education. Jerusha Conner, Launa Gauthier, Rille Raaper, and Carolina Guzmán Valenzuela (Eds.), The Bloomsbury International Handbook of Student Voice in Higher Education.

Downloads

Published

2025-09-23

How to Cite

Cook-Sather, A., Alexander, A., Signorini, A. ., Pusey, T. ., Safari Mwayaona, J. ., & Robinson, J. . (2025). ‘I feel like being a student consultant literally gave me a voice’: A cross-context case study of how approaches to engaging the student voice have evolved in three US student-staff partnership programmes . Student Engagement in Higher Education Journal, 7(1), 162–172. Retrieved from https://sehej.raise-network.com/raise/article/view/1385

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2025): Engaging with the Student Voice Special Edition: Refreshing Practice and Theory – A reboot for 2025 and beyond

Section

Case studies/Practice Pieces

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

a.  Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

b.  Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

c.  Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).