Calling all authoritarians: how to shift the power dynamic in your classes

Relationships are often based on unseen power dynamics. For example, a dynamic where one person has more control of the situation informs the relationship between students and professors, employees and managers, and supervisors and direct reports. At times, this power dynamic can lead to one person unilaterally making decisions and the other person reluctantly acquiescing. This type of dynamic is especially evident in the classroom, and it can often be unsatisfying to both parties when the professor feels weary from the constant effort required to motivate students, while the learner feels helpless and unfulfilled due to not having input into what they are learning.

Faculty need all the tools they can get to engage students, while, on the other hand, students crave mentorship and meaningful academic experiences. Recent research has argued that programmes in higher education that are guided by the empowerment framework have the power to enhance students’ learning experience and increase engagement. The framework, developed by Gretchen Spreitzer in 1995, has undergone rigorous evaluation in a variety of organisational settings including the healthcare and manufacturing industries. The results have regularly revealed that the empowerment framework can increase participants’ sense of purpose and productivity while lowering attrition.

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Using the empowerment framework as a theoretical foundation for practice in higher education changes the dynamic of the classroom by shifting away from authoritarianism towards co-creatorship. A bridge of shared purpose, meaning and respect between professors and students can result in a higher quality of academic interactions and better outcomes. The empowerment framework has been conceptualised into five dimensions, which will frame how we discuss the process for building an empowering learning environment.

Self-efficacy: developing opportunities for confidence in the classroom

Self-efficacy refers to a person’s belief that they can complete a task. Competence, confidence and resource availability are vital to fostering self-efficacy, which in turn will promote empowerment. Professors need to ensure that assignments, class discussions and engagement activities are prefaced with students acquiring the required skills and understanding for them to feel empowered and learn effectively. This approach also requires a significant emphasis on communication or constructive feedback, which is crucial to empowerment. When expectations are communicated clearly, along with gratitude and incremental progress measurements, relationships are more likely to evolve, and people begin to develop confidence in their abilities.

Trust: building authentic relationships

Students earn the trust of their professors by listening attentively, meeting expectations and proving themselves consistently reliable over time. But faculty should also reflect on their own efforts to gain the trust of their students and develop approaches to build authentic relationships. Studies show that trust, or the ability to communicate openly, is essential to developing an empowering relationship. For those in a supervisory role that means taking the initiative to provide regular supportive feedback and being attentive to the needs of others. Too commonly, faculty and advisers put the onus of communication on the student and assume that no news is good news. However, reports show that a lack of connection can leave students feeling isolated, abandoned or unsure of how to proceed. 

Personal consequence: helping students see their value

Personal consequence is about helping students see the value of their contributions to the class. This can be challenging in a classroom setting – where students may be required to attend or the subject matter may require significant time spent in lectures. However, no matter the educational setting, faculty should focus on how to help students feel like more than a number. This could be achieved through simple gestures such as calling students by name and inviting regular check-ins where they can submit questions or comments. Even in classes with hundreds of students, it is critical that faculty take time to do a pulse check of student learning. When students feel valued for their individuality, not just their work or class rank, they are more likely to express buy-in, and are more willing to take on projects of their own volition and fundamentally care more about their learning. 

Self-determination: encouraging autonomy

Every student brings their own unique experiences and expectations to their role, so cookie-cutter scripts and uniform metrics can undermine the value students bring to the table. While deadlines and expectations need to be set, providing opportunities for self-directed activity sends the message that you have confidence in your students’ judgement and so reinforces both trust and self-efficacy. As a faculty member, it’s your responsibility to provide guidance and resources tempered with the space necessary for students to make their own decisions. For example, the content of the course could be set, but students could help determine the order of the content delivery, or professors could leave a few weeks open for topics determined by students. 

Meaning: understanding the impact of learning

Professors can’t give students meaning in their lives, but they can provide students with the tools to eliminate barriers for finding purpose. Different forms of meaning include altruism, personal achievement, asset attainment and relationship development. As professors share information, tying content to impact can help students understand how their learning connects to the world at large and can lead students to their own self-directed sense of meaning.

Putting it all together

Relationships can be complicated, and power dynamics in higher education can exacerbate this challenge, which should prompt professors to seek new ideas to support student learning. Implementation of empowerment principles between professors and students can lead to reciprocal growth and learning. Empowered partners meet you halfway and are enthusiastic about accomplishing mutual goals. By making empowerment a practice through continually developing self-efficacy, trust, personal consequence, self-determination and meaning, all parties involved can have better quality interactions, outcomes and long-term success. 

Catherine Whaley is a doctoral student and Jon McNaughtan is a professor of higher education at Texas Tech University, US.

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