The purpose of this talk is to explore critically what 'a student-centred culture' might mean. Drawing on evidence from two research projects I currently lead and on the notion of a student charter, I hope to raise a number of questions relevant to this exploration, namely: how can we best define the student-teacher relationship? Is it a partnership? A sibling relationship? A contract? A gift relationship? An apprentice-master relationship?

2. Student centredness
• Responsibility Against banking
• Active learning Facilatator
Co-inquiry
• partnership

3. At Liverpool
• Centralise all signposting and services, including a ‘how-to
guide’, from pre-registration to alumni for students and for
staff.
• Conduct module based appraisal within a module as
opposed to at the end.
• Feedback on Feedback must be a priority to maintain
dialogue with students at all levels and in all affairs
• Assure research-led teaching

4. 2
• Define and police terminology and how it is used both on
campus and in prospectuses. We should be using the
same language as the NSS, PTES and PRES.
• All student services in the University should focus on the needs of students –
from opening times, to processes. Apart from quality of teaching, this is the
area where the idea of value-for-money was most debated.
• Develop the role of students as partners in the design of curricula –
through module review workshops and in the curriculum review process.
Student as customer

5. Contrast and compare

6. Overall, I was satisfied with my
experience at this Pizza Hut.
I am likely to recommend this Pizza
Hut restaurant to a friend or
colleague.
My experience made me want to
reorder from/visit this Pizza Hut
location again.
I received great value for what I
paid.

7. The food tasted great.
I received enough toppings with my
selection.
The portion sizes were generous.
The food was the right temperature
(hot food was hot, cold food was
cold).
The food looked really delicious.
My food was presented/packaged
well.
The server/order taker listened to
understand my order.
The server/order taker was
knowledgeable and helpful with my
menu selections.

8. The server/order taker was polite,
warm, and welcoming.
The employee(s) I dealt with were
neat and professional in
appearance.
The employee(s) who served me
smiled and made eye contact.
The employee(s) I dealt with
made me feel like I was talking to
a friend.
It seemed like everyone who was
involved in my order did their best
to make it a great experience.
The employee(s) made me feel
like a valued guest.

9. NSS
• The teaching on my course
Staff are good at explaining things
Staff have made the subject interesting
Staff are enthusiastic about what they are teaching
The course is intellectually stimulating
• Assessment and Feedback
The criteria used in marking have been made clear in advance
Assessment arrangements and marking have been fair
Feedback on my work has been prompt
I have received detailed comments on my work
Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things I did not understand
• Academic support
I have received sufficient advice and support with my studies
I have been able to contact staff when I needed to
Good advice was available when I needed to make study choices

10. NSS
• Organisation & Management
The timetable works effectively as far as my activities are concerned
Any changes in the course or teaching have been communicated effectively
The course is well organised and is running smoothly
• Learning Resources
The library resources and services are good enough for my needs
I have been able to access general IT resources when I needed to
I have been able to access specialised equipment, facilities, or rooms when I needed to
• Personal development
The course has helped me to present myself with confidence
My communication skills have improved
As a result of the course, I feel confident in tackling unfamiliar problems

11. Mid-module evaluation
• What are the key things you have learnt so
far?
• Is there anything that remains difficult to
understand?
• What changes might improve your
learning?

12. Student feedback
• Animation lectures are amazing… they push you to achieve your
best
• Brilliant teaching… lecturers were very supportive and opened up
doors into the art world
• My mind went up and down with ideas and I came across work I
never had before which inspired me
• The staff teaching on my module are very creative and helpful; they
have pushed me all the way and I am very thankful to them
• My confidence has grown since I commenced university when I was a
timid little thing. Thanks to the constant group tutorials and
presentations, this forced me to ‘ get out there’

13. • I have been able and encouraged to
be a more independent person and
this has not only affected me academically
but also on a personal level
• The lecturers really care and are
passionate about what they are
teaching

14. • The pizzas are amazing… the staff push
you to achieve your best pizza experience
• Brilliant service - staff were very supportive
and opened up doors into the pizza
world
• My mind went up and down with ideas and
I came across pizzas I never had
before which inspired me

15. A gift relationship
Perhaps one way of clarifying how gifting differs from economic exchange is to
examine what parents are doing when they invest in a college education for their
children. In what is usually the most expensive as well as capstone purchase
most parents make… few would say it is simply like buying their child a new coat
only on a grander scale.most in fact probably would be terribly disappointed if all
their children got was a product… people sense that college is a gift, a
bequeath of culture wherein their child takes major strides in
becoming a person. As with all gifting, the risks are great because the
outcomes are unpredictable. And at up to $30000 per year it is small wonder that
more and more people are emphasising the secondary, instrumental and
measurable goals – knowledge and skills acquisition and job preparation.
Sessions, 1994:14

16. The Dove project

17. • If you are educated in the Jewish narrative, you are born in it, and that’ s
what they teach you, you don’ t have a choice. The programme allows that
there are different narratives, and then make up you mind about those
different narratives. R2
• I never had the confidence to express my views because they were not based
on knowledge of the history of the conflict and of the region; and also because
of my own my cultural heritage, the things I was born into, that I grew up with
but never really analysed academically and spiritually as well. R7
• When you live in Gaza, all that you think about is how to pass your day, how
to manage to think about your evening, the maximum you will do is think
about tomorrow. You will never think about the future. So life in Gaza makes
your ambitions very limited. So the fact that I came here, I managed to do
many things that I would never have been able to do in Gaza, it opened my
eyes on the world. R1

18. The lecture theatre