La fiducia nella relazione educativa tra docenti e studenti universitari nei terzi spazi digitali = The educational relationship between lectures and university students in third digital spaces

A strong expansion of digital practices has accompanied the pandemic emergence, also in
education. This rapid change in an increasingly digital society implies to rethink the way
education and training are designed in the various subject areas (European Commission, 2020),
taking into account the opportunities of the new digital technologies and the changes they foster. Living and working in digital conditions contributes, for example, to changing
relationships of trust (Blöbaum, 2021). Trust is an important element in educational practices
(Cavalli, 2009) and in social action, since it mitigates fear of risks, controls uncertainty, opens
towards the other (Giddens, 1990; Luhmann, 1989). Our contribution focuses on some aspects
that in the Italian university context characterise the relationship between teachers and students
in third digital spaces (Potter & McDougall, 2017), with the aim of highlighting significant
elements to which to direct attention in the change underway and, in particular, in the
construction of the relationship of trust. The data come from in-depth interviews carried out
with 32 students and 15 university lecturers as part of a research project conducted by the
Salesian University Institute of Venice in collaboration with the University of Padua between
March 2021 and March 2022, with the aim of investigating how the links between lecturer and
student within third spaces modify the teaching relationship and the teacher-student
relationship in an increasingly participatory, horizontal and hybrid context. In addition to the
interviews, 13 lecturers were involved in two focus groups to investigate what kind of
relationships can be established on digital platforms and, in particular, how informal digital
proximity between lecturers and students can influence relationships of trust in teaching
communication.