Breaking the tyranny of office hours: Overcoming professor avoidance |
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| Authors: | Elizabeth K Briody Angela Goldenstein Edward J Berger |
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| Institution: | 1. Cultural Keys LLC, Troy, USA;2. School of Engineering Education and School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, and MEERC at Purdue: The Mechanical Engineering Education Research Center at Purdue, West Lafayette, USA;3. School of Engineering Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA;4. School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA;5. MEERCat Purdue: The Mechanical Engineering Education Research Center at Purdue, West Lafayette and USA https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0337-7607 |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACTStudies have found that Faculty–Student Interaction (FSI) has many positive benefits for students including academic support, professional development, mentoring, and career planning. Research-intensive universities exhibit the lowest levels of faculty–student interaction within higher education. This article utilises qualitative methods to explore faculty, student, and staff perceptions of faculty–student interactions, particularly those that take place out of the classroom, at a research-intensive public U.S. university. We identify social distance between faculty and students based on unequal status within a rigid, hierarchically-organised culture as a key barrier to FSI. We then discuss methods that some of the faculty in our study used to mitigate their social distance with students in an effort to increase FSI. |
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| Keywords: | Faculty-student interaction social status social distance organizational culture office hours academic support |
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![ORCID Icon]({"type":"image","src":"/templates/jsp/images/orcid.png"} "ORCID Icon")
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0337-7607