A good teacher listens: Why knowing your students and teaching your students go hand in hand

About the Project

In the UK interest in Social Pedagogy is growing, as the chasm between what our children need, and what our education system offers them, grows wider by the day. Still recovering from the pandemic, our children need nurture, yet our outcomes driven education system offers high stakes and ever mounting pressure (Solvason, 2025).

Those who value Social Pedagogy see that care and learning cannot be separated. A child who feels unsafe cannot learn. A child who is hungry, or tired, cannot learn. A child who is anxious cannot learn (Solvason et al, 2020). Maslow (1943) highlighted the connection between a child’s wellbeing and their capability to achieve over eighty years ago, yet this remains unacknowledged within education policy.

We expect teachers that are themselves anxious and tired, to support children effectively, introducing ever-more accountability as the means to improving quality, rather than considering the wellbeing of the teachers themselves (Solvason et al, 2023). The education system in England must change, and we argue that the values embedded within Social Pedagogy, of listening, valuing and acknowledging individual potential, can enable that change (Stobbs et al., 2023).

As such we look forward to reviewing proposals for educational developments which place the wellbeing of the child (or young person, or adult) at the centre of education initiatives.

Supervisory team

Director of Studies: Dr Carla Solvason (ethical research, parent partnerships in education, education cultures)

Additional Supervisors will include one of:

• Dr Rachael Paige (teacher presence, educational leadership, coaching and mentoring)
• Dr Angela Hodgkins (empathy and compassion/ emotional labour, Early years, practitioner wellbeing)
• Dr Alison Prowle (childhood adversity/ trauma-aware practice, strength-based practice, parenting and family support)

Research Group: Social Pedagogy Research Group