Intentional Relationality in Teacher Education: Self-Determination Theory Meets Theory of Practice Architectures

Relationships are so ubiquitous that they often fade from our view, their importance masked by their everyday-ness. Yet when cultivated intentionally, relational practices can transform individuals, institutions and communities. This chapter examines two Australian Teacher Education courses—grounded in restorative and relational pedagogy—where relationality was not incidental but intentionally central within the university classroom. To understand how relationships shape educational practices and how they impact pre-service teachers’ experiences and practices, we needed tools to bring the nuance of relationality into view. We brought Ryan and Deci’s Self-Determination Theory (2000)—which explores individual needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness—in conversation with the arrangements of the Theory of Practice Architectures. By aligning SDT’s notion of relatedness with TPA’s concept of relatings, we examine what Edwards-Groves et al. call the “relational architectures” that enable or constrain certain forms of relationality within higher education settings. Bringing these two theories together, we argue that relational practices in teacher education are not just pedagogical tools but central to fostering solidarity. In doing so the chapter extends TPA by offering a more holistic understanding of relationality, solidarity and relational architectures.