Creating Relationship-Centered Schools: The Role of Student Voice and Empathy-Building in Supporting Policy Change

• In Event: Equitable Systems for Thriving Students: Policy Implications of the Science of Learning and Development

Abstract

Positive relationships play a critical role in enabling youth to thrive (Darling-Hammond et al., 2019). SoLD tells us that when relationships are reciprocal, culturally responsive, and trustful, they catalyze cognitive growth and increase engagement and academic success (Osher et al., 2018). Positive relationships are also protective, serving to mitigate the effects of adversity, excessive stress, and stereotype threat by providing emotional security and adult responsiveness (Osher & Kendziora, 2010). With their power and impact, research indicates that developing positive relationships in schools is especially critical for Black and Indigenous youth and other students of color, as they often have less supportive relationships in schools and encounter deficit approaches that minimize their ways of being (Gregory & Roberts, 2017).

While research demonstrates how positive relationships can spur success and equity, schools are typically not designed to foster personalized bonds, particularly at the secondary level (Darling-Hammond et al., 2002). Secondary schools often have impersonal structures, such as short, numerous class periods and segregated programming, that has proven difficult to transform in the face of institutional, normative, and political barriers (Cohen & Mehta, 2017; Tyack & Cuban, 1995). Nonetheless, many practitioners and advocates remain steadfast in advancing relationship-centered schooling—particularly with the turbulence of recent events and the urgency it has fueled for schools to be spaces where young people are nurtured.

This study investigates one such effort. It examines the Relationship Centered Schools (RCS) campaign, a collaborative, locally-driven effort—led by youth and supported by a community-based organization —that aims to create equity-oriented change in high schools in four of California’s most disenfranchised communities. Drawing upon interviews, observations, and documents, this case study answers: How do efforts to create relationship centered schools transpire in local settings? What is their emerging impact? How, if at all, do efforts address the technical, political, and normative changes (Oakes, 1992) that often stunt change?

Findings suggest that the RCS campaign has spurred changes at the school and district levels, including increased community-building in established forums (e.g., homerooms, committee meetings) and the creation of new shared learning forums and decision-making bodies where educators and youth collaborate to address equity challenges. Moreover, the growing engagement between adults and youth has addressed mindsets that can stifle change, often challenging norms of authority and the role of implicit bias in student-practitioner interactions. In advancing these changes, interviewees underscored the importance of empathy building—often cultivated through empathy interviews (Nelsestuen & Smith, 2022)—and student voice as critical elements that built knowledge and investment in relationship-centered schooling.

Through its findings, this study suggests that youth can lend partnership and expertise to substantive school change—including improvements to the quality of relationships that support student success and equity. In addition, it suggests that educational leaders and decision makers should build the infrastructure and capacity to cultivate and channel student voice into reform and elevate how relationship building and empathetic practice can be cornerstones in their efforts.

Authors

• Edward Rivero, Teachers College, Columbia University
  Presenting Author

• Laura E. Hernandez, Learning Policy Institute
  Presenting Author