This paper introduces the concept of a relational turn in higher education, concerning curriculum development, teaching and learning, and institutional culture. It explores both the nature of this concept and its necessity in contemporary academic contexts.

In educational studies, the term relational has frequently been used in conjunction with concepts such as pedagogy (e.g., Reeves & Le Mare, 2017), education (e.g., Bingham & Sidorkin, 2004), and agency (e.g., Edwards, 2005). Much of the existing literature has examined these constructs within the context of schools and schooling, particularly in relation to the ethics of care (Hinsdale & Jungblad, 2016) and teacher-student relationships (Hickey & Ridley, 2023). However, recent scholarship has emphasized the importance of relational pedagogy and practice in higher education. This includes the development of relational pedagogies informed by the ethics of care (e.g., Adams, 2018), the promotion of student partnership approaches (e.g., Bovill, 2020), and an expanded focus on the material environment and the embodied, affective dimensions of higher education practices, building on caring social relations (e.g., Gravett et al., 2024; Gravett, 2022). This emerging body of work represents a departure from earlier arguments advocating relational perspectives in higher education, such as those by Ramsden (1987) and Prosser and Trigwell (1999), whose "relational perspectives" in higher education explore relational learning as going beyond reductionist approaches to learning.

Building on this recent scholarship, the paper engages with the concept of a relational turn in higher education (Lacković & Olteanu, 2023). This perspective emphasizes practices and institutional cultures that foreground what every individual excels at in collaborative efforts and excellence, bridging linguistic and numerical knowledge with socio-cultural, material, and digital presences and objects into holistic educational expereinces and events.

Example: The paper provides an example of utilising "inquiry graphics" (Lackovic, 2020) as relational artefacts in higher education practice. Inquiry graphics are multimodal artefacts designed for learning or research purposes, integrating visual media with educational or research concepts to facilitate inquiry. Any multimodal artefact that comprises (1) a picture-salient sign (e.g., a photograph, AI-generated image, drawing, or video) as a learner-chosen representation of their unique experiences or understanding of an educational concept, and (2) a learner's reflective dialogue or narrative analysing the educational concept, qualifies as an inquiry graphic. These artefacts serve as both reflective and multimodal representations of learners and/or participants’ lived experiences, mediating teaching-learning and/or research. In teaching contexts, individual inquiry graphics are ideally shared in a designated digital space and discussed within a community of learners.

The paper will include selected examples from an empirical study that employed think-aloud, artefact elicitation interviews with 10 PhD students in Education from diverse disciplines and two groups of MA students in Education that took place at a UK university. The interviews aimed to understand how students think about educational concepts with pictorial images (e.g. photographs, digital images). The study utilised inquiry graphics (Lackovic, 2020) as relational artefacts to support higher-order thinking, bridging abstract concepts and theories of Education with students' personal and material experiences. The paper will present selected findings from the study, illustrating a form of relational pedagogy using inquiry graphics in higher education. It will examine the strengths and challenges of this approach in fostering creative insight and relational knowledge.

This work concludes by outlining key arguments for why this shift is essential. Specifically, a relational turn in higher education is needed to counterbalance the dominance of crude metrics of individual success—whether for students or academic staff—and to address persistent dualisms in curriculum and teaching, such as mind-body, abstract-concrete representations, academic-mundane, intellect-senses, and singular-multiple dichotomies. Additionally, it critiques the prevalent use of technologies primarily as tools for efficiency and surveillance, rather than as subjects for analysis, creative engagement, and reflective practice. A relational approach offers a way forward for universities, fostering an environment that empowers and inspires both students and staff, ultimately driving innovation in research, teaching, and learning.

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