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THE EFFECT OF STUDENT-FACULTY INTERACTION ON COLLEGE
STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND SELF CONCEPT.
Education; 6/22/1999; WIEST, DUDLEY J.
The effects of student-faculty interactions in higher education have received
considerable empirical attention. However, there has been no empirical work that has
examined the relation between student-faculty interaction and college students'
self-concept. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among academic
achievement, self-concept, and student-faculty interactions. The sample consisted of
106 female and 70 male college students ranging from 18 to 56 years of age.
Participants completed a questionnaire containing a teacher immediacy scale, a
self-concept scale and demographic items. Regression analyses indicated that
student-faculty interactions were predictive of students' academic achievement and
scholastic self-concept. However, no relation was found between teacher immediacy
behaviors and the following self-concept domains: intellectual ability, social
acceptance, and global self-worth.
Numerous projects have focused on the relationship between student-faculty
interactions and outcome variables such as academic achievement and overall
satisfaction of college students (e.g., Lamport, 1993; Pascarella, 1980; Pascarella &
Terenzini, 1976; Pascarella, Terenzini, & Hibel, 1978). To date, however, there has
been no empirical work that has examined the relation between student-faculty
interaction and college students' self-concept. Determining whether or not faculty
have an impact on students' self-concept may be meaningful in regard to students'
overall achievement as well as, their general experience in college.
Student-Faculty Interaction
Tinto (1987) stated that student-faculty interactions, which include both formal
classroom experiences and informal interactions outside of class, are crucial to the
academic continuation and intellectual development of students. According to Tinto
(1987), a lack of such interactions is a very significant determinant of attrition.
Likewise, Pascarella and Terenzini (1976) reported that the frequency and quality of
student-faculty interactions significantly predict freshman academic outcomes such as
college satisfaction and attrition. Related work has found that students who frequently
interacted with faculty expressed greater satisfaction with their total college
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experience in comparison to students who interact at a lesser level (Wilson, Gaff,
Dienst, Wood, & Bavry, 1975). Wilson et al. (1975) also indicate that faculty who
enjoy and seek interaction with students outside of class demonstrate their
accessibility for such interaction through their in-class attitudes and teaching styles.
In a project that specifically examined the relation between student-faculty interaction
and academic performance, Pascarella, Terenzini, and Hibel (1978) found that
student-faculty interactions had a significant influence on students' academic
performance as measured by students' SAT scores and freshman year cumulative GPA.
Interactions focusing on intellectual or course-related matters had the strongest
association with achievement (Pascarella, Terenzini, & Hibel, 1978). However,
interactions dealing mostly with future careers also made a significant contribution to
students' achievement. Further, they found that students who interacted more
frequently with faculty, performed better academically than what was predicted from
their pre-enrollment characteristics (i.e., SAT scores). On the other hand, students who
seldom met with faculty tended to achieve at lower levels than predicted. Taken
together, the existing research suggests that student-faculty interactions are important
to a student's college experience.
College Student Self-Concept
Self-concept can be defined as how a person thinks about him/herself in different
areas of his or her life. More specifically, academic self-concept refers to a student's
perceptions of his or her academic abilities (House, 1992). A number of projects (e.g.,
Hamachek, 1995; House, 1993) have shown that students' self concept is significantly
associated with academic achievement. Further, Loeb and Magee (1992) suggest that
students with low self-esteem who find it difficult adjusting to college academics may
benefit from support (e.g., faculty, peers, family) which may lead to increased
satisfaction with college and enhanced self-concept. Lastly, Gerdes and Mallinckrodt
(1994) recently suggested that having support and interaction with faculty may be
related to students' academic achievement and self-concept.
The Present Study
The present study examines the relation between student-faculty interactions and
students' academic achievement and self-concept. Based upon the existing research, it
is hypothesized that positive student-faculty interactions will result in higher levels of
academic achievement among college students. There has been no empirical work, to
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date, which directly examines the relation between student-faculty interaction and
college student self-concept. Thus, this relation will be explored in this project.
Method
Participants
The sample consisted of 106 female and 70 male college students from a midsize
university in southern California. The age range of the participants was from 18 to 56,
with a mean age of 27.78 (SD = 9.77). The sample included 88 Caucasians, 42
Hispanics, 17 African Americans, 12 Asians, 8 multiracial, and nine "other."
Eighty-four percent of the participants were at the junior or senior class level.
Materials and Procedure
Self-Perception Profile for College Students. This project employed four subscales
(intellectual ability, scholastic competence, social acceptance, and global self-worth)
from Neeman and Harter's (1986) domain-specific measure. A high score on a specific
subscale indicates high competence in that domain; likewise, a high score on the
self-worth subscale indicated positive perceptions of one self. Reliabilities for the
subscales ranged from .80 to .86.
Immediacy Behavior Scale. Christophel's (1990) 34-item scale includes statements
which describe teacher verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors (e.g., smiles,
gestures, uses humor). Participants are asked to rate the frequency in which they
observe their teachers utilizing these immediacy behaviors. The items were scored on
a five-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). Higher scores
indicate more observed verbal and nonverbal teacher immediacy behaviors.
Academic Performance. Participants were asked to provide an index of achievement
by indicating their most recent midterm score in the course in which they received the
survey instrument. Although students' overall grade point average would have been a
more ideal measure of achievement, this information was not available.
The Self-Perception Profile, Immediacy Behavior Scale, and demographic items were
combined into a questionnaire which was administered during the winter quarter of
the 1996-97 academic year. Participants were instructed to accurately complete the
questionnaire. They were also informed that there were no "right" or "wrong" answers.
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Participants returned completed surveys to a collection point in the peer advising
center.
Results
In order to assess this project's hypotheses, a series of regression analyses were
performed. In each regression, teacher immediacy behaviors (i.e., verbal and
nonverbal) served as the independent variable. Each of the subscales from the
Self-Perception Profile, as well as, students' midterm scores served as the dependent
variables. Two of five regression analyses were significant. Specifically, a regression
analysis indicated that teacher behaviors significantly predicted students' midterm
scores, F(2, 173)= 7.838, p [is less than] .01. The standardized coefficients for verbal
and nonverbal behaviors were .207 and .214, respectively; the R2 for the model was.
12. Similarly, teacher behaviors contributed significantly to students' perceptions of
scholastic competence, F(2, 173) =11.802, p [is less than] .01. The standardized
coefficients for verbal and nonverbal behaviors were. 160 and. 191, respectively; the
R2 for the model was .083.
Teacher behaviors did not contribute significantly to students' perceptions of
intellectual ability, social acceptance, or self worth.
Discussion
Regression analyses suggest that in-class verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors
do contribute to students' level of academic achievement, as well as, their perceptions
of school related competence. Specifically, immediacy behavior was significantly
associated with students' midterm scores and perceived scholastic competence.
However, only a small amount of the variance in students' midterm scores and
scholastic competence scores were accounted for by the teacher immediacy behaviors.
As a result, it will be important in future work to consider other variables such as
study habits, home environment, and stressors (i.e., work and children) which may
also contribute to college students' self perceptions and academic performance.
Regression analyses, on the other hand, did not support a link between teacher
immediacy behaviors and students' perceptions of social acceptance, intellectual
ability, and self worth. A possible explanation for this result may be that out-of-class
self-concept domains such as social acceptance, intellectual ability, and overall
self-worth can not be predicted by in-class instructor behavior.
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In general, the results of this project are consistent with previous work that highlights
the importance of student-faculty interaction with respect to achievement. This project
also provides some evidence that student-faculty interactions are significantly
associated with students' academically-related self concept. Future research should
examine not only in-class student-faculty interactions, but also out-of-class
interactions, as well. By examining both in and out-of-class interactions a more
comprehensive understanding of how student-faculty interactions affect student
performance and self perception may be possible. Moreover, future work should
examine traditional and non-traditional students individually since self perceptions
may differ significantly between these two groups of students (see Donohue & Wong,
1997).
References
Christophel, D. M. (1990). The relationships among teacher immediacy behaviors,
student motivation, and learning. Communication Education, 39, 323-340.
Donohue, T. L & Wong, E. H. (1997). Achievement motivation and college
satisfaction in traditional and nontraditional students. Education, 118, 237-243.
Gerdes, H., & Mallinckrodt, B. (1994). Emotional, social, and academic adjustment of
college students: A longitudinal study of retention. Journal of Counseling &
Development, 72, 281-288.
Hamachek, D. (1995). Self-concept and school achievement: Interaction dynamics
and a tool for assessing the self-concept component. Journal of Counseling &
Development, 73, 419-425.
House, J. D. (1992). The relationship between academic self-concept,
achievement-related expectancies, and college attrition. Journal of College Student
Development, 33, 5-10.
House, J. D. (1993). Achievement-related expectancies, academic self-concept, and
mathematics performance of academically underprepared adolescent students. The
Journal of Genetic Psychology, 154, 61-71.
Lamport, M. A. (1993). Student-faculty informal interactions and the effect on college
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student outcomes: A review of the literature. Adolescence, 28 (112), 971-990.
Loeb, R. C., & Magee, P. M. (1992). Changes in attitudes and self-perceptions during
the first two years of college. Journal of College Student Development, 33, 348-355.
Neemann, J., & Harter, S. (1986). Manual for the Self-Perception Profile for College
Students. Denver, CO: University of Denver.
Pascarella, E. T. (1980). Student-faculty informal contact and college outcomes.
Review of Educational Research, 50 (4), 545-575.
Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (1976). Informal interaction with faculty and
freshman ratings of academic and non-academic experience of college. Journal of
Educational Research, 70, 35-41.
Pascarella, E. T., Terenzini, P. T., & Hibel, J. (1978). Student-faculty interactional
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Tinto, V. (1987). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Wilson, R. C., Gaff, J. G., Dienst, E. R., Wood, L., Bavry, J. L. (1975). College
Professors and their impact on students. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
BRIANNE M. WOODSIDE, EUGENE H. WONG AND DUDLEY J. WIEST
Psychology
California State University, San Bernardino
San Bernardino, California 92407