RE-CREATING SOCIAL FUTURES: THE ROLE OF THE MORAL IMAGINATION IN STUDENT–TEACHER RELATIONSHIPS IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION

Abstract

In this article, we describe a quality of student–teacher relationships that supports re-engagement in alternative education. This quality is based upon the principle of accept and build : a dialectical principle that simultaneously includes both student and teacher accepting what the other offers in the present moment while building new social futures in relation. We argue that this form of relation is both a means and an outcome of moral imagining. The article is in three sections. We begin by providing a brief review of the literature on student–teacher relationships. Then, drawing together the literature on moral imagination, we describe and exemplify the principle of accept and build with research from Australia and Canada. From this perspective, student–teacher relationships can be positioned as developing projects of the moral imagination with implications for the recreation of social futures. Although the label of “second chance” is often applied pejoratively to alternative and flexible programs, we argue that this should be viewed as a strength rather than a weakness.