The Future of Institutional Listening: Conversation in the Cracks of the University

Abstract

Listening to students is not only often a deficiency in educational theory, but also for educational leaders, policy-makers, teachers, parents, and educational actors in society more broadly. This article outlines this problem while suggesting that educational conversations that occur "within" the context of institutions can afford particular benefits to their participants and the institutions themselves. Topics of interest specific to the institutional experience of individuals, including those that are highly critical of them, can be developed in non-linear and non-efficiency-orientated directions, in a manner that is both individualised and pluralistic.