Finding Joy: Radical Collegiality and Relational Pedagogies of Care in Education

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Book Review Details

Natalie Davey

Leiden: Brill (2023) 84pp., hardback £90

ISBN: 978-90-04-54751-3

Book Review Authors

Steph O’Reilly, stephanie.o’reilly@abdn.ac.uk

University of Aberdeen, Scotland

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Davey’s thoughtful work on pedagogies of care represents a timely reminder of the values and purposes of education for the 21^st century. Guided by the question – ‘how can we manifest more relational care in education by harnessing joy in the school setting?’ (Davey, 2023, p.1), Finding Joy encourages the reader to challenge themselves to reflect on the purposes of education and the “many openings and fresh starts” (Davey, 2023, p.58) which relational teaching offers for both students and teachers alike. Built on the works of Nodding’s (1986) ‘caring relations’, Davey presents a fresh and humble view of education which challenges teachers to be ‘good enough’(Alpert, 2019) through relational, human learning experiences.

The book, based on Davey’s doctoral thesis, begins with the provocation that in a time of ongoing mental health concerns for teachers and students, staff and teachers “need to experience both joy and care themselves” when working with young people (Davey, 2006, p.6). Davey argues that this can be achieved by harnessing the power of relational pedagogies, with teaching allowing for opportunities for students and teachers to learn from one another in the transactional sharing of stories and moments of vulnerability. Whilst Davey acknowledges this discomfort for educators, in sharing something personal of themselves with students, she argues that “teachers who want a long and healthy career need to get comfortable with first and foremost taking a good hard look at themselves”(p.8). In chapter 2, Davey takes the reader on a reflective review of her own teaching practices, when working with Canadian students in a detention centre. What stands out is Davey’s thoughtful use of reflective teaching artefacts (her ‘Shadow Box’) as a visual tool for self-reflection on the values of her teaching practices and her own ever-changing teacher identity. On reflecting on her teaching experiences working with young people in the detention centre, she highlights the importance of relationships in building support, trust and connection when working with marginalised communities.

What follows in chapters 3 to 6 is Davey’s attempts to outline what it means to care in the classroom, though the research-based creation of her Pedagogies of care framework, views of radical collegiality and opportunities for finding joy. Pedagogies of care is founded on the premise of teaching as a relational endeavour based on emotional work (Hochschild, 1983) and the ethics of care (Nodding, 2016). Davey argues that care between teachers and students is two-way (the student-teacher binary), and that an important part of teaching is creating relationships with students based on meaningful interpersonal connections or the ‘gift of exchange’ (Davey, 2023, p.26). What is refreshing and challenging about Davey’s assertion is the idea that teachers can also feel care from their students. In reading this book, Davey challenges the false narrative that teachers have it all-together, humanising the teaching profession through her reflection of the self, relationships with marginalised students and work with colleagues.

Radical collegiality, based on the work of Fielding (1999) and Baumfield and Butterworth (2007), positions collegiality as an inclusive disposition “rooted in community that celebrates individuality versus individualism” (Davey, 2023, p.43). Based on three central tenets, radical collegiality focuses on the premise that teachers can and will learn from each other, that teaching is a “personal not technical activity” and that teachers and schools “should embrace parents and other members of the community” (Davey, 2023, p.44). The findings of Davey’s research explore the ways in which teachers can improve education and learn and support each other through co-designing and team-teaching lessons, giving teachers the opportunity to work with others to challenge perceptions. Davey explores how the mutuality of learning, in the student-teacher binary, allows for the democratic dialogue and co-design of lessons, encouraging student participation and involvement. Lastly, involving the community in learning, allows for the democratisation of education through the opportunity for schools to facilitate more cross-institutional connections.

In chapter 5, Davey revisits her earlier teaching artefacts and reflections, considering the ways in which her professional learning has been influenced by relational reading. Davey takes the reader on a personal journey of reflection, aimed to uncover her ever-changing teacher identity by revisiting educational theorists who have impacted her practice and values. Using the works of Biesta (2012), Greene (1995) and Levianasian ideals (in Biesta, 2013), Davey reconsiders her ‘shadow box’ from earlier in the book as a “multi-hyphenate art-inspired researcher and teacher”, identifying the ways in which her practice could be more inclusive and “cured of its sickness”. In the work that follows, Davey encourages the reader to think about relational power in their practices, the purpose of education and the inherent biases (lost truths) in every classroom. The purposes of the book are to guide the reader through their own reflective journey, seeing education as a relational practice which can be enhanced through pedagogies of care and meaningful reflections on practice. In the book, Davey attempts to rehumanise the education of marginalised communities by exposing the human nature of teaching through the comforting notion that “relational learning [means] getting it wrong and striving to get it right again and again” (Davey, 2023, p.57).

In the final section of the book, chapter 6, Davey invites the reader to reconsider our perceptions around the current purposes of education. Davey (2023, p.70) explores joy as a ‘relational’ and transactional concept which we should strive for in our interactions with students and families. What is particularly striking about the conclusion of this book is Davey’s notion that relational moments of learning can happen anywhere, and that when pedagogies of care are enacted effectively, moments of joy happen spontaneously in an unplanned and natural manner. Using joy as a pedagogical tool can help build relationships within and beyond the classroom. The final part of Davey’s work focuses on how joy and pedagogies of care can be used in the virtual classroom and in community spaces (e.g. museums, charities, youth groups) to enhance education. The conclusion to Davey’s work is a powerful reminder of how opportunities for meaningful education can happen out with the classroom walls.

Davey’s work is a thoughtful and timely reminder of the purposes of education and relational and pastoral opportunities teachers face on a day-to-day basis in their classrooms. A challenging and unique part of the work is the transactional care that happens in the student-teacher binary, which refreshingly suggests that care for teachers can also come from students. The book is useful and enjoyable read for any educator who is interested in reflective practice and building relationships in the classroom.

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