Research suggests that supportive teacher-student relationships are a prerequisite for student development. Developing such relationships requires teachers to observe, interpret, and reflect on teacher-student interactions and on teachers' relational competence in practice. Although teacher-student relationships are especially challenging with students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), few studies have examined how these relationships develop. In this qualitative study, teachers from two Swedish elementary schools comprising one intervention (n = 33) and one control group (n = 20) completed pre- and post-tests in which they analysed videos of teacher-student interactions. We explored how the teachers understood relational competence in relation to students with ADHD before and after the video-based intervention, which included a presentation on the concept of relational competence and a model for analysing such competence. Our findings suggest that the intervention promoted teacher development regarding relational competence. Compared with the pre-test period, participants i) used more nuanced relational language, ii) substantiated their claims with concrete cues regarding interpersonal communication, and iii) adopted both teacher and student perspectives regarding the relationship. Finally, new understanding regarding relational competence was combined with knowledge regarding the importance of teacher sensitivity and responsiveness when working with students with ADHD.

This article explores the influence of relationships on student achievement by examining empirical evidence and by adopting a social psychological theory. Initially, the issue is addressed from a national, Swedish context. Thereafter, two general questions are raised: (1) What is the influence of relationships on student achievement, according to empirical research? (2) How can the influence of relationships on student achievement be conceptualised? Question one is discussed from a body of international and Scandinavian research on general characteristics of teaching that promote student achievement. The argument leads to a model in which the teacher–student relationship is a key factor. In order to discuss the second question, Kenneth Gergen’s social psychological theory is applied. According to the analysis, relationships play an essential role in understanding student achievement. The relational process is regarded as an inherent aspect of educational life and the foundation for encouraging performance. By combining these perspectives, the significance of relationships for comprehending student achievement is revealed. In the final section of this text, practical–pedagogical implications are discussed with reference to a narrative about a young student’s knowledge development.

The expanding global discourse on education is built on the concept of individualism. One emerging direction in educational theory that challenges this discourse is relational pedagogy. This article aims to discuss some characteristic aspects of relational pedagogy, and thereby proposing a theoretical course in the field. By comparing Kenneth Gergen’s and Martin Buber’s relational conceptions, the article argues that relational pedagogy could/should be characterized by a distinction between two fundamental types of relationships, tentatively labeled co-existence and co-operation. This distinction is proposed to be significant for relational pedagogy to become a trustworthy alternative not only to the individualistic- but also to the collectivist conception of education.

Under de senaste decennierna har fokus på standardiserade kunskapsmätningar ökat, och utbildning har blivit liktydigt med enskilda individers prestationer. Relationell pedagogik utmanar detta synsätt genom att i stället erbjuda ett sätt att analysera, förstå och tänka kring utbildning där relationer sätts i centrum. Om relationell pedagogik grundas på tanken att människan växer, utvecklas och lär sig saker i relationer. Författarna introducerar här det relationella tänkandet med utgångspunkt i teoretiker som Kenneth Gergen, Gert Biesta och Martin Buber och applicerar det sedan på frågor som vad utbildning är, vilken betydelse relationen lärare-elev har, hur lärarens förhållningssätt till eleven kan förstås och vad främlingskap i utbildning är. Skolan uppfattas här som en mötesplats - en plats där barn och ungdomar utvecklas som fria och ansvarstagande personer i sam-existens och sam-verkan. Boken vänder sig till lärarstudenter på avancerad nivå. Den kan också användas i vidareutbildning för lärare samt för magisterutbildningar i ämnen som pedagogik och socialpsykologi.

Det finns en svårfångad kvalitet i pedagogiskt arbete. Den kan benämnas ömsesidig respekt, kärlek, omtänksamhet, förtroende och äkta intresse för eleven.

In this article, the focal point of education is simultaneously defined as: i) the place where the most important educational activity is taking place; and ii) the place where the main interest of educational theory (and educational practice) should be located. The article aims to discuss the idea that the focal point is located somewhere between the teacher and the student. This idea is introduced by references to Gert Biesta’s inter-subjective theory and to some more or less classical conceptions which distinguish between two main aspects of sociality. Further, and as a more specific aim, the article discusses Martin Buber’s contribution to understanding the focal point of education. Buber contributes by emphasising “the interhuman” as a primary dimension in relation to “the social”. From Buber’s perspective, what really matters in education exists in an ontological and relational event. In the last section of the article it is suggested that exploration of the focal point should not stick to just one form of relationship. The interhuman event is, taken by itself, supposed to be primary, but the focal point cannot be fully understood without a penetrative picture of its social context.

I självhjälpslitteraturen gestaltas en suverän, oberoende, obunden, närmast maktfullkomlig människa som ideal. Är det verkligen en trovärdig människosyn som framträder?