Relational pedagogies reimagined: reflecting on mattering and response-ability in higher education

Abstract

This paper explores how Pedagogies of Mattering (PoM), grounded in post-humanist theory, can reshape higher education by centring relationality, co-responsibility, and material conditions. Using a Collaborative Autoethnographic (CAE) approach, five academic developers reflect on their facilitation of small-group critical dialogues at the HELTASA (Un)Conference 2024, drawing on lived experience to examine the entangled nature of learning and teaching. Four interconnected themes emerged: (1) ethics, trust, and care as foundations for student voice and agency; (2) relationality and co-creation as means of deepening engagement; (3) material conditions such as infrastructure, access, and linguistic inclusivity; and (4) decolonial pedagogies that affirm indigenous knowledge and multilingual practices. We argue for curriculum co-design, inclusive assessment, and decentralised institutional structures that value both human and more-than-human actors in the academic space. PoM offers a practical framework for transforming higher education into a space of collective flourishing, where knowledge is not merely transmitted, but co-created through care, dialogue, and responsibility.