Can 'restorative circles' build relationships on master's degrees? Exploring students' and lecturers' experiences and perceptions of impact.

Research suggests a connection between student relationships with other students and lecturers, and their outcomes and experiences of higher education. Yet, master's students are overlooked in this area of practice and research, with few studies investigating relationship building at the postgraduate level. To date, moreover, no studies have used restorative circles – a methodology for designing and structuring dialogue processes that aims to build relationships among a group – on master's programmes. This article outlines the key findings from a study of a novel project, the 'MA Dialogue', on an Irish master's degree. Using restorative circles, this brought students and lecturers together for regular conversations to build their relationships. The dataset consists of 35 interviews with students (26/51) and lecturers (9/10) who participated in 'MA Dialogue' sessions over two academic years, considering their experiences and perceptions of its impact. The findings indicate that the project was experienced as a unique opportunity for relationship building, reportedly perceived to humanise lecturers, facilitate students' transitions to master's study, and support teaching and learning. If relationship building is a pedagogical strategy that transcends geographical and disciplinary boundaries, then quantitative research is warranted to investigate the effectiveness of restorative circles for relationship-building in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]