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From tension to quality: how student partners practice quality work.

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Title: From tension to quality: how student partners practice quality work.
Authors: Muelder, Hannah (AUTHOR), Esterhazy, Rachelle (AUTHOR), Bergstrøm-Hansen, Nora (AUTHOR), Enqvist-Jensen, Cecilie (AUTHOR)
Source: Studies in Higher Education. Apr2026, Vol. 51 Issue 4, p893-909. 17p.
Subjects: Partnerships in education, Higher education, Legal education, Student engagement, Social interaction, Professional practice
Abstract: Student partnerships are often promoted in research and policies to improve quality in higher education. Existing research focuses on outcomes of such partnerships, while the specific factors that unfold when student partners (SPs) enact their dual roles as students and employees remain underexplored. We also lack understanding of how SPs' work relates to wider quality work practices at universities. Addressing this gap, we combine social practice and organisational perspectives to investigate which tensions SPs make sense of when working. We also explore how SPs' attempts to resolve these tensions can be interpreted as engaging in quality work. To this end, we interviewed SPs who worked as colloquium leaders facilitating weekly sessions for first-semester students on legal methods at a law faculty; we also collected written reflections, observations, and documents. Using thematic analysis, we found that SPs faced and created tensions related to (a) their aims of creating collaborative colloquia and the competitive learning environment at the faculty, (b) the perceived expectations of teaching legal methods despite not being experts, and (c) ambiguities regarding whether SPs are expected to act as peers or facilitators. We found that these tensions typically emerged where local colloquium practice met institutional quality structures, implicit understandings of quality, and professional standards. By trying to find solutions locally, SPs indirectly engaged with quality work more systemically. We argue that SPs should be understood as actors in the quality system, and that SPs' unique perspective should be used to explore existing tensions within learning environments and their development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: From tension to quality: how student partners practice quality work.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Muelder%2C+Hannah%22">Muelder, Hannah</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Esterhazy%2C+Rachelle%22">Esterhazy, Rachelle</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bergstrøm-Hansen%2C+Nora%22">Bergstrøm-Hansen, Nora</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Enqvist-Jensen%2C+Cecilie%22">Enqvist-Jensen, Cecilie</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Studies+in+Higher+Education%22">Studies in Higher Education</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 51 Issue 4, p893-909. 17p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Partnerships+in+education%22">Partnerships in education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+education%22">Higher education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Legal+education%22">Legal education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+engagement%22">Student engagement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+interaction%22">Social interaction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+practice%22">Professional practice</searchLink>
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  Data: Student partnerships are often promoted in research and policies to improve quality in higher education. Existing research focuses on outcomes of such partnerships, while the specific factors that unfold when student partners (SPs) enact their dual roles as students and employees remain underexplored. We also lack understanding of how SPs' work relates to wider quality work practices at universities. Addressing this gap, we combine social practice and organisational perspectives to investigate which tensions SPs make sense of when working. We also explore how SPs' attempts to resolve these tensions can be interpreted as engaging in quality work. To this end, we interviewed SPs who worked as colloquium leaders facilitating weekly sessions for first-semester students on legal methods at a law faculty; we also collected written reflections, observations, and documents. Using thematic analysis, we found that SPs faced and created tensions related to (a) their aims of creating collaborative colloquia and the competitive learning environment at the faculty, (b) the perceived expectations of teaching legal methods despite not being experts, and (c) ambiguities regarding whether SPs are expected to act as peers or facilitators. We found that these tensions typically emerged where local colloquium practice met institutional quality structures, implicit understandings of quality, and professional standards. By trying to find solutions locally, SPs indirectly engaged with quality work more systemically. We argue that SPs should be understood as actors in the quality system, and that SPs' unique perspective should be used to explore existing tensions within learning environments and their development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1080/03075079.2025.2496927
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        Text: English
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              Text: Apr2026
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              Y: 2026
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