Adopting the circle pedagogy – relatedness, autonomy and competence

ABSTRACT The circle pedagogy in the Maltese Islands is practised in a range of settings, including the Personal, Social and Career Development (PSCD) subject, provided to all students within the Maltese Education system. During the subject, the PSCD teacher aims to enhance social and emotional competences, whilst encouraging positive and healthy relationships. The Self-Determination Theory provides the basis for this approach, namely to focus on students’ need to feel competent, autonomous and related. In this study, we wanted to investigate how the use of the circle configuration adopted in PSCD, combined with the Experiential Learning Cycle and Processing helped to enhance the three psychological needs outlined in the Self Determination Theory. Two online focus groups were carried out with graduate PSCD teachers, teaching in the primary and the secondary sectors, to assess whether the circle pedagogy used during PSCD lessons increased students’ relatedness in the class, autonomy and competence, thereby furthering their psychosocial well-being. The study showed that the students’ autonomy and competence was influenced by their sense of relatedness in the class. The research also showed that when addressing the 3 SDT psychological needs, students are more willing to engage and contribute during the lessons. This puts greater responsibility on the PSCD teachers because they need to be trained in facilitative skills, make good use of the confidentiality clause and know when to refer, if the need arises.