Course syllabus spring 2026
Course syllabus spring 2026
Title
Education: Pedagogical Relations
Swedish title
Education: Pedagogical Relations
Course code
ET704E
Credits
15 credits
Grading scale
UA / Excellent (A), Very Good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Pass (E) or Fail (U)
Language of instruction
English
Decision-making body
Faculty of Education and Society
Establishment date
2023-02-22
Syllabus approval date
2023-02-22
Syllabus valid from
2024-01-15
Entry requirements
Prerequisite course for this course is: ET703E Education: Education and Formation
Level
Advanced level
Main field
Education
Progression level
A1F
Course objectives
The course aims for the student to develop knowledge of different theories of pedagogical relations, and how to relate these to concepts such as upbringing, care, and power.
Course contents
The course begins with an overview of influential theories of pedagogical relations. The course deals with ideas about different conceptions of pedagogical relations in relation to ideas about upbringing, care, and power, and how these can be studied practically. Furthermore, pedagogical relations will be discussed in connection with questions about generation and the pedagogical paradox.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to
1. compare and discuss various theories of pedagogical relations;
2. analyse fictional examples of pedagogical relations, based on the theoretical perspectives of the course;
3. explore upbringing, care, and power using an empirical method as well as discuss the scientific and philosophical assumptions of this method;
4. problematize questions of ethics and power relations in the research process as well as conduct a critical research methodological argumentation.
Learning activities
The course is based on regular lectures, seminars, workshops and group discussions. There will be opportunities for feedback between the students throughout the course.
Assessment
Test 1: Written exam (Skriftlig examination), 8 credits. This test examines learning outcomes 1 and 2.
Test 2. Oral exam (Muntlig examination), 7 credits. This test examines learning outcomes 3 and 4.
The course coordinator will provide information about grading criteria at the start of the course.
It must be possible to distinguish between individual performances for all assessments
Course literature
Bergdahl, Lovisa & Langmann, Elisabet (2018). Pedagogical postures: a feminist search for a geometry of the educational relation. Ethics and Education, 13:3, pp. 309-328 (20 p)
Buber, Martin (1994[1958]). I and thou. 2. ed. Edinburgh: T&T Clark (171 p)
Dearden, Robert Frederick (2010/1972). Autonomy and education. In: Dearden, Robert Frederick, Hirst, Paul Heywood & Peters, R. S. (eds.), Education and the Development of Reason. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul (pp. 448–465) (17 p)
Friesen, Norm (2017). The pedagogical relation past and present: experience, subjectivity and failure. Curriculum Studies, 49:6, pp. 1-14 (14 p)
Hammersley, Martyn & Atkinson, Paul (2007). Ethnography: principles in practice. 3. ed. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge (200 p)
Hand, Michael (2006). Against autonomy as an educational aim. Oxford Review of Education, 32(4), pp. 535–550 (15 p)
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) [video]. The Orchard
Leave no Trace (2018) [video]. Bleecker Street.
Morgan, Jeffrey (1996). A defence of autonomy as an educational ideal. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 30(2), pp. 239–252 (13 p)
Noddings, Nel (2013). Caring: A Relational Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press (256 p)
Norefalk, Christian (2022). What the right to education is, and what it ought to be: towards a social ontology of education as a human right. Diss. Malmö: Malmö universitet (269 p)
Stone, Carolyn M. (1990). Autonomy, emotions and desire: some problems concerning R. F. Dearden’s account of autonomy. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 24(2), pp. 271–283 (12 p)
Todd, Sharon (2004). Teaching with ignorance: Questions of social justice, empathy, and responsible community. Interchange 35, 337–352 (15 p) (tillgänglig på: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02698882)
Twain, Mark (2012). The Mysterious Stranger. London: Penguin Classics (114 p)
Westover, Tara (2018). Educated: a memoir. New York: Random House (329 p)
Course evaluation
Malmö University provides students who participate in, or who have completed a course, with the opportunity to express their opinions and describe their experiences of the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarise the results of course evaluations. The University will also inform participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures taken in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).
Interim rules
If a course is no longer offered, or has undergone significant changes, the students must be offered two opportunities for re-examination based on the syllabus that applied at the time of registration, for a period of one year after the changes have been implemented.
Additional information
If a student has a Learning support decision, the examiner has the right to provide the student with an adapted test, or to allow the student to take the exam in a different format. The syllabus is a translation of a Swedish source text.