Mind the gap: Teachers’ conceptions of student-staff partnership and its potential to enhance educational quality

<b>Introduction:</b> Student-staff partnerships as a concept to improve medical education have received a growing amount of attention. Such partnerships are collaborations in which students and teachers seek to improve education by each adding their unique contribution to decision-making and implementation processes. Although previous research has demonstrated that students are favourable to this concept, teachers remain hesitant. The present study investigated teachers’ conceptions of student-staff partnerships and of the prerequisites that are necessary to render such partnerships successful and enhance educational quality. <b>Method:</b> We conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 course coordinators who lead course design teams and also teach in 4 bachelor health programmes, using Bovill and Bulley’s levels of student participation as sensitising concepts during data analysis. <b>Results:</b> The results pointed to three different conceptions of student-staff partnerships existing among teachers: <i>Teachers teach and students study</i>; <i>teachers teach and value students’ feedback;</i> and <i>teachers and students co-create</i>. The prerequisites for effective co-creation teachers identified were: Teachers must be open to involve students and create dialogues; students must be motivated and have good communication skills; the organisation must be supportive; and teachers should have the final say. <b>Conclusion:</b> We conclude that teachers’ conceptions are consistent with Bovill and Bulley’s levels of student participation. Under certain conditions, teachers are willing to co-create and reach the highest levels of student participation.