The Heller School for Social Policy and Management
Relational Coordination Collaborative

Relational Education Innovation Lab

RC Cafe Participants

What is relational education? Relational education theory proposes that learning occurs through relationships (Giroux & Penna, 1979; Aspelin, et al, 2020; Gravett, et al, 2024; Plantin Ewe & Fjelkner Pihl, 2024).  Relational education is about the competencies that students learn - not just technical but also relational competencies such as the ability to communicate and relate across differences, the ability to engage in systems thinking, and the ability to create integrative solutions to complex problems.   

Relational education is also about the way learning happens in a relationally coordinated learning community.  According to Instituto Relacional: “We understand that there is no deep learning without meaningful relationships, and that transforming education implies rethinking how we interact in the classroom, among teams, with families and with the environment.”  To transform education in the midst of profound industry disruption is likely to require strong relational networks among key stakeholders - leaders, faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni, employers, and policy makers - with each stakeholder bringing their knowledge and goals to the table in a timely way. 

How does relational education work at different stages of learning?  How relevant is it in a world dominated by technology, artificial intelligence and political polarization?  What might students learn about relationships through design thinking or sports or student clubs or by observing their teachers, professors and educational leaders?  From a research perspective, how might we study the impact of relational education on outcomes of interest to multiple stakeholders?

We've invited thought leaders from across the educational continuum to join this Innovation Lab.  Our colleagues from Spain, Portugal, UK and Massachusetts have been working to strengthen relational education by building relationships between schools and families, among teachers, among students, and between teachers and students.  Other colleagues from New York, Virginia and Washington have been working with multiple stakeholders to embed relational principles into undergraduate and professional education.  

Purpose of this Innovation Lab

The purpose of the Relational Education Innovation Lab is to create a community of scholars, practitioners, and scholar-practitioners to use the principles and practices of relational coordination to advance positive outcomes for administrators, faculty, staff, and students. This Innovation Lab will connect members from various institutional types, roles, and interests to create synergy for community-building, practice-sharing, and research opportunities.   To learn more, please contact one of the Lab Leaders below. 

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Resources

Aspelin, J. (2020). Teaching as a way of bonding: A contribution to the relational theory of teaching. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 53(6), 588-596.

Bolton, R., Logan, C., & Gittell, J. H. (2021). Revisiting relational coordination: A systematic review. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 57(3), 290-322.

Cox, M., Cuff, P., Brandt, B., Reeves, S., & Zierler, B. (2016). Measuring the impact of interprofessional education on collaborative practice and patient outcomes. Journal of interprofessional Care, 30(1), 1-3.

Cutcher-Gershenfeld, J. (2025). The consortia century: Aligning for impact. Oxford University Press.

Douglass, A. L. (2019). Leadership for quality early childhood education and care. OECD Education Working Papers, (211), 0_1-31.

Felten, P., & Lambert, L. M. (2020). Relationship-rich education: How human connections drive success in college. JHU Press.

Fuller, J., Langer, C., & Sigelman, M. (2022). Skills-based hiring is on the rise. Harvard Business Review, 11, 1-6.

Giroux, H. A., & Penna, A. N. (1979). Social education in the classroom: The dynamics of the hidden curriculum. Theory & Research in Social Education, 7(1), 21-42.

Gittell, J. H., & Douglass, A. (2012). Relational bureaucracy: Structuring reciprocal relationships into roles. Academy of Management Review, 37(4), 709-733.

Gravett, K., Taylor, C. A., & Fairchild, N. (2024). Pedagogies of mattering: Re-conceptualising relational pedagogies in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 29(2), 388–403. 

Grim, J. K., Bausch, E., Hussain, A., & Lonn, S. (2024). Is it what you know or who you know?: An information typology of how first-generation college students access campus resources. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 26(1), 194-215.

Jongbloed, B., Enders, J., & Salerno, C. (2008). Higher education and its communities: Interconnections, interdependencies and a research agenda. Higher Education, 56(3), 303-324.

Korn, J. (2026).  How a top liberal arts school is revamping its curriculum for career readiness.  Forbes, February 3.

Levine, A., & Van Pelt, S. (2025).  From upheaval to action: What works in changing higher education.  JHU Press.

Levine, A., & Van Pelt, S. (2021). The great upheaval: Higher education's past, present, and uncertain future. JHU Press.

Margalina, V. M., De-Pablos-Heredero, C., & Montes-Botella, J. L. (2017). Achieving quality in e-learning through relational coordination. Studies in Higher Education, 42(9), 1655-1670.

Plantin Ewe, L., & Fjelkner Pihl, A. (2024). Relational competence in higher education: A systematic review. Cogent Education, 11(1). 

Portelli, J. P. (1993). Exposing the hidden curriculum. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 25(4), 343-358.

Rosenberg, B. (2023). “Whatever it is, I’m against it”:  Resistance to change in higher education.  Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Sanchez, M. D. C. G., De-Pablos-Heredero, C., Medina-Merodio, J. A., Robina-Ramírez, R., & Fernandez-Sanz, L. (2021). Relationships among relational coordination dimensions: Impact on the quality of education online with a structural equations model. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 166, 120608.

Skakon, J. (2014). Relational and course coordination at the university: Can the principles of relational coordination incorporated into the course coordinator role strengthen constructive alignment?  Human Factors in Organizational Design and Management—XI, 625-630.

Innovation Lab Leaders

Caroline Shanti

Associate Dean and Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Southern Maine

Caroline Shanti, Ph.D., LCSW, is an Associate Dean and Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Southern Maine, and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Prior to entering academia, they worked with young children and their families specializing in early childhood mental health, while also working in Early Childhood Policy and Program Development. They completed their Ph.D. in Social Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University in 2014. Since that time, Dr. Shanti’s scholarship has focused on social-emotional development across the lifespan. One aspect of this work centers on the impact of organizational policies and organizational culture on professional development and program outcomes. At USM, they have developed and led the semester-long orientation for new faculty since the Fall of 2017. Over the last two years, they have been a member of the team at USM introducing relational coordination in approaches to advising. Currently, this team is expanding its work to support University leaders in transforming the University culture into one of collaboration.

Jeffrey Grim

Assistant Professor, George Mason University

Jeff Grim, PhD is an assistant professor at George Mason University. His previous position was as visiting assistant professor at University of Iowa, where he taught courses on higher education administration, teaching and learning, and connecting theory to practice in student affairs. He completed his PhD in Higher Education from the University of Michigan, his masters in student affairs administration from Michigan State University, his bachelors from the University of Maryland, College Park, and his associates in general studies from Hagerstown Community College. Jeff also has a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from Washington University in St. Louis and in executive coaching from Southern Methodist University.

Jeff approaches his research agenda centering the perspectives of participants to critically examine systemic and organizational structures to create inclusive and equitable experiences and outcomes for all faculty, staff, and students in higher education. He utilizes his significant coursework in organizational theory and public policy, along with prior professional experience, to shape a research agenda that meets rigorous scholarly standards and can be applied to improve higher education organizations and practice.

Jeff is particularly interested in how higher education organizational contexts can coordinate (through relationships and structure) to decrease achievement gaps and increase equitable experiences and outcomes for systemically marginalized students.

Jody Hoffer Gittell

Professor, The Heller School, Brandeis University; Director, Relational Coordination Collaborative

Jody Hoffer Gittell is Professor and PhD Program Director at Brandeis University's Heller School, and Program Director of the Academy of Management’s Organization Development and Change Division. Gittell teaches Strategic Human Resource Management, Research Methods, and Organizational and Institutional Theory.  She is the Founder and Director of the Relational Coordination Collaborative and Chief Executive Officer of Relational Coordination Analytics. She is interested in relational strategies for achieving organizational performance, organizational change and human well-being.  She has published scientific articles and books such as The Southwest Airlines Way: Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance, High Performance Healthcare: Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve Quality, Efficiency and Resilience, and Transforming Relationships for High Performance: The Power of Relational Coordination.  She is currently co-editing a book with Amanda Brewster, Ingrid Nembhard and Vicky Parker called Healthcare Management and Human Well-Being in a Turbulent Era. 

Together with students and colleagues around the world, Dr. Gittell has developed relational coordination theory, which predicts that highly interdependent work is most effectively coordinated through relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect, supported by frequent, timely, accurate, problem-solving communication. The theory shows how relational coordination drives a wide range of desired performance outcomes and how organizations shape it, for better or worse.  Dr. Gittell speaks frequently about the theory and practice of relational coordination. She serves as Vice Chair of the Board for Greater Seacoast Community Health, and on the Executive Committee for NAACP Seacoast. She received her BA from Reed College, her MA from The New School, and her PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.