3.1 Brave spaces and critical dialogue
The use of a language of appreciation and cooperation is part of the necessary communication and dialogue which is a crucial part of partnership work. Partnership working requires that all those in that partnership engage in critical dialogue. The benefits of collaborative learning spaces which are set up through partnerships can be seen as ‘brave spaces’ (Arao and Clemens, 2013) in which experiences and knowledge can be shared and the formation of action through dialogue can be experienced and learned. The creation of ‘brave spaces’ acknowledges that it is often impossible to remove risk and ‘implies that there is indeed likely be danger or harm – threats that require bravery on the part of those who enter. But those who enter the space have the courage to face that danger and to take risks because they know they will be taken care of’ (Cook-Sather and Workworth, 2016, p. 1). The four stages of critical dialogue which are needed to build this courage are set out in Table 1 below.
Table 1 The four stages of critical dialogue (Wood, 2017)
| Problematisation | Being able to see what we accept as ‘normal’ through different eyes and so challenge assumptions. |
|---|---|
| Conscientisation | Becoming conscious of our situation and organising to resist it. |
| Humanisation | Building solidarity as peers stop regarding those regarded as oppressed as an abstract category and start to see them as persons who have been dealt with unjustly and have been deprived of their voice’ (Freire, 1970). |
| Praxis | Acquisition of critical awareness by oppressed people of their own condition, and, in solidarity with one another, begin to ‘struggle for liberation’ (Freire, 1970). |
These stages of critical dialogue can be exemplified in the ‘Youth Solidarity Dialogue Model’ (Wood, 2017) which was set up as the mode of partnership between marginalised young people in Malawi and young people in Scotland. This model explores the nature of equality versus equity in partnerships. Thinking about power and context within partnerships is important if learners are to understand social justice and global citizenship. Critical dialogue takes the partnership beyond simple to something more complex which has the power to change and develop the attributes required for living sustainably.
Explore
Learn more about the power of partnering across the globe and using critical dialogue as a way to engender learning within the Scotland–Malawi Partnership.
Access and read the STEKA skills report [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .
Activity 4.2 Learning from partnerships
Watch Video 1 below of Emma Wood talking about partnerships.
Video 1 Emma Wood on partnerships (around 8 minutes)
Consider the purpose of the partnerships that were created and make notes in your learning journal about your responses to the following questions:
2a. What are the key impacts of the project on the young people involved, both in Scotland and in Malawi?
3. 
What do you feel the young people involved learned from it and how might it be termed an example of a sustainable pedagogy?
Post around 200 words on the Activity 4.2 forum discussion summarising your reactions to this partnership.
Explore
Read the short editorial of an issue of Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education which provides an overview of five reflections by three undergraduate students and two academic members of staff who participated in a Students as Learners and Teachers (SaLT) program at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges.
Cook-Sather, A. (2016) ‘Creating Brave Spaces within and through Student-Faculty Pedagogical Partnerships’ (brynmawr.edu), Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education. Available at: https://repository.brynmawr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1143&context=tlthe (Accessed 27 October 2023).
3 Layers of partnership