Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Outside the Classroom Walls: Perceptions of Professor Inappropriate Out-of-Class Conduct and Student Classroom Incivility among American Business Students

  • Published:
Journal of Academic Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Under higher education’s contemporary consumer model, students are treated as customers and professors are encouraged to increase student engagement through more personal out-of-class interactions, often in social settings. In the course of this more personal student-faculty involvement, students inevitably encounter or learn of their professors’ occasional inappropriate or unethical behavior. In the present study, we investigated the impact of 145 American undergraduate Business students’ perceptions of their professors’ inappropriate out-of-class behavior on student beliefs and in-class behavior. Results indicate that student perceptions of professors engaging in inappropriate out-of-class behavior were associated with students viewing these professors as lower in ethical character and reporting a stronger likelihood of attending these professors’ classes under the influence of alcohol and illicit drugs, swearing and using vulgarity in these professors’ class discussions, and showing disregard for these professors’ rules, time, and effort. These relationships held even when student grade satisfaction and professor in-class behavior were accounted for. Our results suggest professors’ behavior outside the classroom may impact students’ behavior inside the classroom, re-igniting dialogue regarding the professorial role and the boundaries on oversight of that role. We offer suggestions as to how higher education may address these concerns without infringing upon professors’ personal freedoms.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Student perceptions of instructor IOCB are likely based on first-hand observations (e.g., witnessing a professor getting drunk at a local bar), gossip from other students (e.g., “I heard Professor X got arrested for DUI last night”) or instructors (e.g., “Take it easy on Professor X, she is going through a tough divorce”), and/or posts on social media (e.g., instructors “following” groups supporting legalization of marijuana). Students indicated a high reliance on first-hand experiences with their instructors and/or their courses (M = 5.82, SD = 1.37 on a 1 to 7 scale) as the source of their perceptions.

References

  • Alt, D. (2014). Assessing the connection between students’ justice experience and attitudes toward academic cheating in higher education new learning environments. Journal of Academic Ethics, 12, 113–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alt, D., & Itzkovich, Y. (2015). Assessing the connection between students’ justice experience and perceptions of faculty incivility in higher education. Journal of Academic Ethics, 13, 121–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, S. J., & Mahmud, A. (2008). Experiential learning and the acquisition of managerial tacit knowledge. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 7, 189–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baden, D. (2014). Look on the bright side: A comparison of positive and negative role models in business ethics education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 13, 154–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergman, J. Z., Westerman, J. W., & Daly, J. P. (2010). Narcissism in management education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 9, 119–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birch, M., Elliott, D., & Trankel, M. A. (1999). Black and white and shades of gray: A portrait of the ethical professor. Ethics & Behavior, 9, 243–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bjorklund, W. J., & Rehling, D. L. (2010). Student perceptions of classroom incivility. College Teaching, 58, 15–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bjorklund, W. L., & Rehling, D. L. (2011). Incivility beyond the classroom walls. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 6, 28–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boice, B. (1996). Classroom incivilities. Research in Higher Education, 37, 453–486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braxton, J. M., & Mann, M. R. (2004). Incidence and student response to faculty teaching norm violations. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 99, 35–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruhn, J. G., Zajac, G., Al-Kazemi, A. A., & Prescott Jr., L. D. (2002). Moral positions and academic conduct. The Journal of Higher Education, 73, 461–492.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caboni, T. C., Hirschy, A. S., & Best, J. R. (2004). Student norms of classroom decorum. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 99, 59–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, S. J., van Witteloostuijn, A., & Eden, L. (2010). From the editors: Common method variance in international business research. Journal of International Business Studies, 41, 178–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chory, R. M. (2007). Enhancing student perceptions of fairness: The relationship between instructor credibility and classroom justice. Communication Education, 56, 89–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chory, R. M., & Offstein, E. H. (2014). The cool professor: Instructor personal conduct’s influence on student civility and professionalism. Academy of Management Proceedings, 1, 666–671.

  • Chory, R. M., & Offstein, E. H. (2016). Too close for comfort? Faculty-student multiple relationships and their impact on student classroom conduct. Ethics & Behavior. doi:10.1080/10508422.2016.1206475.

  • Chory, R. M., & Offstein, E. H. (2017). “Your professor will know you as a person”: Evaluating and rethinking the relational boundaries between faculty and students. Journal of Management Education, 41, 9–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chory, R. M., Horan, S. M., & Houser, M. L. (2017). Justice in the higher education classroom: Students’ perceptions of unfairness and responses to instructors. Innovative Higher Education, 42(4). doi:10.1007/s10755-017-9388-9.

  • Chory-Assad, R. M. (2002). Classroom justice: Perceptions of fairness as a predictor of student motivation, learning, and aggression. Communication Quarterly, 50, 58–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chory-Assad, R. M., & Paulsel, M. L. (2004). Classroom justice: Student aggression and resistance as reactions to perceived unfairness. Communication Education, 53, 255–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Churchill, L. R. (1982). The teaching of ethics and moral values in teaching: Some contemporary confusions. The Journal of Higher Education, 53, 296–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, C. M., & Springer, P. J. (2007). Thoughts on incivility: Student and faculty perceptions of uncivil behavior in nursing education. Nursing Education Perspectives, 28, 93–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claus, C. J., Chory, R. M., & Malachowski, C. C. (2012). Student antisocial compliance-gaining as a function of instructor aggressive communication and classroom justice. Communication Education, 61, 17–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiVerniero, R. A., & Hosek, A. M. (2011). Students’ perceptions and communicative management of instructors’ online self-disclosure. Communication Quarterly, 59, 428–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dufresne, R. L., & Offstein, E. H. (2012). Holistic and intentional student character development process: Learning from West Point. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 11, 570–590.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ei, S., & Bowen, A. (2002). College students’ perceptions of student-instructor relationships. Ethics & Behavior, 12, 177–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Endrissat, N., Muller, W. R., & Kaudela-Baum, S. (2007). En route to an empirically based understanding of authentic leadership. European Management Review, 25, 207–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flynn, F. J., & Wiltermuth, S. S. (2010). Who’s with me? False consensus, social networks, and ethical decision-making in organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 53, 1074–1089.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fullerton, D. S. (2013). What students say about their own sense of entitlement. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 135, 31–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallup, Inc. (2014). Great jobs great lives: the 2014 Gallup-Purdue Index report. Washington, DC: Gallup World Headquarters Retrieved 14 Oct 2015 from http://www.luminafoundation.org/files/resources/galluppurdueindex-report-2014.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gao, T., Siegel, P., Johar, J. S., & Sirgy, M. J. (2008). A survey of management educators’ perceptions of unethical faculty behavior. Journal of Academic Ethics, 6, 129–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, P. W., & Jordan, S. R. (2012). Supervisors and academic integrity: Supervisors as exemplars and mentors. Journal of Academic Ethics, 10, 299–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirschy, A. S., & Braxton, J. M. (2004). Effects of student classroom incivilities on students. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 99, 67–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, D. L., Rupert, P. A., Ross, S. A., & Shapera, W. E. (1999). Student perceptions of dual relationships between faculty and students. Ethics & Behavior, 9, 79–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horan, S. M., Chory, R. M., & Goodboy, A. K. (2010). Understanding students' classroom justice experiences and responses. Communication Education, 59, 453–474.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaschik, S. (2015). Well-prepared in their own eyes. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved March 5, 2017 from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/20/study-finds-big-gaps-between-student-and-employer-perceptions.

  • Keith-Spiegel, P. C., Tabachnick, B. G., & Allen, M. (1993). Ethics in academia: Students’ views of professors’ actions. Ethics & Behavior, 3, 149–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelling, G. L., & Coles, C. M. (1997). Fixing broken windows: Restoring order and reducing crime in our communities. New York: Simon and Schuster.

  • Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2005). Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing experiential learning in higher education. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 4, 193–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konovsky, M. A., & Cropanzano, R. (1991). Perceived fairness of employee drug testing as a predictor of employee attitudes and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 698–707.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuh, G. D., & Hu, S. (2001). The effects of student-faculty interaction in the 1990s. The Review of Higher Education, 24, 309–332.

  • Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J. H., & Whitt, E. J. (2010). Student success in college: Creating conditions that matter. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.

  • Kuther, T. L. (2003). A profile of the ethical professor: student views. College Teaching, 51, 153–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malesky, L. A., & Peters, C. (2012). Defining appropriate professional behavior for faculty and university students on social networking websites. Higher Education, 63, 135–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazer, J. P., Murphy, R. E., & Simonds, C. J. (2007). I’ll see you on “Facebook:” The effects of computer-mediated teacher self-disclosure on student motivation, affective learning, and classroom climate. Communication Education, 56, 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCroskey, J. C., & Teven, J. J. (1999). Goodwill: A reexamination of the construct and its measurement. Communication Monographs, 66, 90–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milem, J. F., & Berger, J. B. (1997). A modified model of college student persistence: Exploring the relationship between Astin’s theory of involvement and Tinto’s theory of student departure. Journal of College Student Development, 38, 387–399.

  • Nordstrom, C. R., Bartels, L. K., & Bucy, J. (2009). Predicting and curbing classroom incivility in higher education. College Student Journal, 43, 74–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nunziata, A. M. (2007). College student perceptions of instructor communication privacy management. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL.

  • Oberle, C. D., Engeling, S. J., & Ontiberos, S. P. (2010). College students’ prejudicial biases against instructors who smoke cigarettes. Social Psychology of Education, 13, 499–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Offstein, E. H. (2006). Stand your ground: Building honorable leaders the West Point way. Westport: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Offstein, E. H., & Chory, R. M. (2016). Breaking bad in business education: Impacts on student incivility and academic dishonesty. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. doi:10.1177/2329490616671709.

  • Offstein, E. H., & Dufresne, R. L. (2007). Building strong ethics and promoting positive character development: The influence of HRM at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Human Resource Management Journal, 46, 95–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Offstein, E. H., Dufresne, R. L., & Childers, J. S. (2012). Reconciling competing tensions in ethical systems: Lessons from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Group and Organization Management, 5, 617–654.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services [OhioMHAS]. Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring (OSAM) Network. (2014). Gambling behaviors, beliefs and motives among college students in Ohio: A targeted response initiative, January–June 2014. Columbus: Ohio MHAS, Office of Quality, Planning and Research.

  • Owen, P. R., & Zwahr-Castro, J. (2007). Boundary issues in academia: student perceptions of faculty-student boundary crossings. Ethics & Behavior, 17, 117–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parnell, J. A., & Dent, E. B. (2009). Philosophy, ethics, and capitalism: an interview with BB&T Chairman John Allison. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 8, 587–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879–903.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879–891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robie, C, & Kidwell, Jr., R. E. (2003). The ethical professor and the undergraduate student: perceptions of moral behavior among business faculty. Academy of Management Best Conference Paper 2003 SIM, A1-A6.

  • Sampson, R. J., & Raudenbush, S. W. (2004). Seeing disorder: Neighborhood stigma and the social construction of “broken windows.” Social Psychology Quarterly, 67, 319–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, P. (2015). American U.’s faculty senate takes stand against trigger warnings [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/american-u-s-faculty-senate-takes-stand-against-trigger-warnings/104763

  • Schurr, G. M. (1982). Toward a code of ethics for academics. The Journal of Higher Education, 53, 318–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singleton-Jackson, J. A., Jackson, D. L., & Reinhardt, J. (2010). Students as consumers of knowledge: Are they buying what we’re selling? Innovative Higher Education, 35, 343–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sleigh, M. J., Smith, A. W., & Laboe, J. (2013). Professors’ facebook content affects students’ perceptions and expectations. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 10, 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorensen, G. (1989). The relationships among teachers’ self-disclosive statements, students’ perceptions, and affective learning. Communication Education, 38, 259–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sugarman, S. D. (2005). Conflicts of interest in the roles of the university professor. Theoretical Inquiries in Law, 6, 255–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., Keith-Spiegel, P., & Pope, K. S. (1991). Ethics of teaching: Beliefs and behaviors of psychologists as educators. American Psychologist, 46, 506–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trad, L., Baker, N., Blackman, H., Glynn, K., Wright, A., & Miller, A. N. (2012). Student incivility and instructor communication in the college classroom. The Florida Communication Journal, 40, 47–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K. (1990). A cultural perspective on changing and developing organizational ethics. In R. Woodman & W. Passmore (Eds.), Research in organizational change and development (Vol. 4, pp. 195–230).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Z., Novak, H., Scofield-Snow, H., Traylor, S., & YuanYuan, Z. (2015). Am I disclosing too much? Student perceptions of teacher credibility via Facebook. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 4, 5–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilcox, P., Quisenberry, N., Cabrera, D. T., & Jones, S. (2004). Busy places and broken windows: Toward defining the role of physical structure and process in community crime models. Sociological Quarterly, 45, 185–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiltermuth, S. S., & Flynn, F. J. (2013). Power, moral clarity, and punishment in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 56, 1002–1023.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, S., Shi, Q., Tonelson, S., & Robinson, J. (2009). Preservice and inservice teachers' perception of appropriateness of teacher self-disclosure. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 1117–1124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimbardo, P. G. (1969). The human choice: Individuation, reason, and order versus deindividuation, impulse, and chaos. In Nebraska symposium on motivation. University of Nebraska Press.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, College of Business, Frostburg State University, 101 Braddock Road, Frostburg, MD, 21532-2303, USA

    Rebecca M. Chory & Evan H. Offstein

Authors
  1. Rebecca M. Chory
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Evan H. Offstein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rebecca M. Chory.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chory, R.M., Offstein, E.H. Outside the Classroom Walls: Perceptions of Professor Inappropriate Out-of-Class Conduct and Student Classroom Incivility among American Business Students. J Acad Ethics 15, 197–214 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-017-9290-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-017-9290-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation