Abstract
Decades of research demonstrate that college students benefit from positive interaction with faculty members, although that same evidence suggests that those interactions are far from common, particularly outside the classroom. Moreover, relatively little is known about which, when, how, and why faculty members choose to engage with students outside of the classroom. Guided by the theory that faculty members use in-class behaviors to signal their “psychosocial approachability” for out-of-class interaction with students (Wilson et al. in Sociology of Education 47(1):74–92, 1974; College professors and their impact on students, 1975), this study uses data from 2,845 faculty members on 45 campuses to identify the personal, institutional, and pedagogical factors that influence the frequency and type of interaction faculty members have with students outside of the classroom.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Intra-class correlation for “casual” interaction scale = 2.94/(95.21 + 2.94) = 0.030. Intra-class correlation for “substantive” interaction scale = 0.29/(14.30 + 0.29) = 0.020.
References
Anaya, G., & Cole, D. G. (2001). Latina/o student achievement: Exploring the influence of student–faculty interactions on college grades. Journal of College Student Development, 42(1), 3–14.
Anderson, K. J., & Smith, G. (2005). Students’ preconceptions of professors: Benefits and barriers according to ethnicity and gender. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 27(2), 184–201.
Astin, A. W. (1993). What matters in college? Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Chang, J. C. (2005). Faculty student interaction at the community college: A focus on students of color. Research in Higher Education, 46(7), 769–802.
Cole, D. (2007). Do interracial interactions matter? An examination of student–faculty contact and intellectual self-concept. Journal of Higher Education, 78(3), 249–281.
Colwell, B. W., & Lifka, T. E. (1983). Faculty involvement in residential life. The Journal of College and University Student Housing, 13(1), 9–14.
Cotten, S. R., & Wilson, B. (2006). Student–faculty interactions: Dynamics and determinants. Higher Education, 51(4), 487–519.
Cox, B. E., & Orehovec, E. (2007). Faculty–student interaction outside the classroom: A typology from a residential college. Review of Higher Education, 30(4), 343–362.
Eagan, M. K., & Jaeger, A. J. (2008). Closing the gate: Part-Time faculty instruction in gatekeeper courses and first-year persistence. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2008(115), 39–53.
Ehrenberg, R. G. (2005). The changing nature of the faculty and faculty employment practices (CHERI Working Paper #78) [Electronic Version]. Cornell University, ILR School. Retrieved March 20, 2009 from http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/workingpapers/60/.
Ehrenberg, R. G., & Zhang, L. (2005). Do tenured and tenure-track faculty matter? The Journal of Human Resources, 40(3), 647.
Einarson, M. K., & Clarkberg, M. E. (2004). Understanding faculty out-of-class interaction with undergraduate students at a research university. Paper presented at the Association for the Study of Higher Education.
Gellin, A. (2003). The effect of undergraduate student involvement on critical thinking: A meta-analysis of the literature 1991–2000. Journal of College Student Development, 44(6), 746–762.
Golde, C. M., & Pribbenow, D. A. (2000). Understanding faculty involvement in residential learning communities. Journal of College Student Development, 41(1), 27–40.
Hathaway, R. S., Nagda, B. A., & Gregerman, S. R. (2002). The relationship of undergraduate research participation to graduate and professional education pursuit: An empirical study. Journal of College Student Development, 43(5), 614–632.
Ishiyama, J. (2002). Does early participation in undergraduate research benefit social science and humanities students? College Student Journal, 36, 380–386.
Jacob, P. (1957). Changing values in college: An exploratory study of the impact of college teaching. New York: Harper.
Kim, Y. K., & Sax, L. J. (2007). Different patterns of student–faculty interaction in research universities: An analysis by student gender, race, SES, and first-generation status. Berkelely, CA: Center for Studies in Higher Education at UC Berkeley.
Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Kuh, G. D., & Hu, S. (2001). The effects of student–faculty interaction in the 1990s. Review of Higher Education, 24(3), 309–332.
Lundberg, C. A., & Schreiner, L. A. (2004). Quality and frequency of faculty–student interaction as predictors of student learning: An analysis by student race/ethnicity. Journal of College Student Development, 45(5), 549–565.
Moore, M., & Trahan, R. (1997). Biased and political: Student perceptions of females teaching about gender. College Student Journal, 31(4), 434–444.
Nagda, B. A., Gregerman, S. R., Jonides, J., von Hippel, W., & Lerner, J. S. (1998). Undergraduate student–faculty research partnerships affect student retention. Review of Higher Education, 22(1), 55–72.
National Center for Educational Statistics. (2007). The condition of education. Washington, D. C.: US Department of Education.
National Survey of Student Engagement. (2008). Promoting engagement for all students: The imperative to look within (2008 results). Bloomington: Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research.
Nettles, M. T., Thoeny, A. R., & Gosman, E. J. (1986). Comparative and predictive analyses of Black and White students’ college achievement and experiences. The Journal of Higher Education, 57(3), 289–318.
Pascarella, E. T. (1980). Student–faculty informal contact and college outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 50(4), 545–595.
Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (1977). Patterns of student–faculty informal interaction beyond the classroom and voluntary freshman attrition. The Journal of Higher Education, 48(5), 540–552.
Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (1991). How college affects students (vol. 1). Findings and insights from twenty years of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students (vol. 2). A third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Pascarella, E. T., Terenzini, P. T., & Hibel, J. (1978). Student–faculty interactional settings and their relationship to predicted academic performance. The Journal of Higher Education, 49(5), 450–463.
Paternoster, R., Brame, R., Mazerolle, P., & Piquero, A. (1998). Using the correct statistical test for the equality of regression coefficients. Criminology, 36(4), 859–866.
Porter, S. R. (2005). What can multilevel models add to institutional research? In Applications of Advanced Statistics in Institutional Research (pp. 110–131). Association for Institutional Research.
Raudenbush, S. W., & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods. Calif. Sage: Thousand Oaks.
Reason, R. D., Terenzini, P. T., & Domingo, R. J. (2006). First things first: Developing academic competence in the first year of college. Research in Higher Education, 47(2), 149–175.
Reason, R. D., Terenzini, P. T., & Domingo, R. J. (2007). Developing social and personal competence in the first year of college. Review of Higher Education, 30(3), 271–299.
Rudolf, F. (1962). The American college and university: A history. New York: Vintage.
Sax, L. J., Bryant, A. N., & Harper, C. E. (2005). The differential effects of student–faculty interaction on college outcomes for women and men. Journal of College Student Development, 46(6), 642–659.
Schwitzer, A. M., Griffin, O. T., Ancis, J. R., & Thomas, C. R. (1999). Social adjustment experiences of African American college students. Journal of Counseling & Development, 77(2), 189–197.
Snow, S. G. (1973). Correlates of faculty–student interaction. Sociology of Education, 46(4), 489–498.
Terenzini, P. T., & Reason, R. D. (2005). Parsing the first year of college: A conceptual framework for studying college impacts. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education. Philadelphia.
Umbach, P. D. (2007). How effective are they? Exploring the impact of contingent faculty on undergraduate education. Review of Higher Education, 30(2), 91–123.
Vianden, J. (2006). “I don’t need any help”: What first year college men say about interacting with faculty outside of the classroom. Doctoral Dissertation. Indiana University, Bloomington.
Wawrzynski, M. R., & Sedlacek, W. E. (2003). Race and gender differences in the transfer student experience. Journal of College Student Development, 44(4), 489–501.
Wilson, R. C., Gaff, J. G., Dienst, R., Wood, L., & Bavry, J. (1975). College professors and their impact on students. New York: Wiley Interscience.
Wilson, R. C., Wood, L., & Gaff, J. G. (1974). Social-psychological accessibility and faculty–student interaction beyond the classroom. Sociology of Education, 47(1), 74–92.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
A previous version of this paper was presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Special thanks to Charles F. Blaich and the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cox, B.E., McIntosh, K.L., Terenzini, P.T. et al. Pedagogical Signals of Faculty Approachability: Factors Shaping Faculty–Student Interaction Outside the Classroom. Res High Educ 51, 767–788 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-010-9178-z
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-010-9178-z