Well-being and student–faculty interactions in higher education
Trolian T.L.; Archibald G.C.; Jach E.A.
2022
Higher Education Research and Development
8
10.1080/07294360.2020.1839023
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) calls for going beyond the measure of market strength to assess societal progress through a consideration of well-being. Research on college and university student experiences and outcomes can consider students’ well-being as a means of obtaining a fuller understanding of the positive impact of student–faculty interactions. This study uses longitudinal data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education to examine the relationship between five measures of interactions with faculty and students’ end-of-fourth-year psychological well-being in the United States. Results reveal that several measures of student–faculty interaction are positively associated with fourth-year well-being, and that the frequency and perceived quality of those interactions are most salient in terms of students’ well-being gains over four years of college or university. These findings suggest that student–faculty interactions matter in terms of students’ well-being, in turn making it important for faculty and administrators to consider how to prioritize demands on faculty members’ time. © 2020 HERDSA.
Faculty; student experience; well-being
Baik C., Larcombe W., Brooker A., How universities can enhance student mental wellbeing: The student perspective, Higher Education Research & Development, 38, 4, pp. 674-687, (2019); Baron P., Corbin L., Student engagement: Rhetoric and reality, Higher Education Research & Development, 31, 6, pp. 759-772, (2012); Bore M., Pittolo C., Kirby D., Dluzewska T., Marlin S., Predictors of psychological distress and well-being in a sample of Australian undergraduate students, Higher Education Research & Development, 35, 5, pp. 869-880, (2016); Bowman N.A., The development of psychological well-being among first-year college students, Journal of College Student Development, 51, 2, pp. 180-200, (2010); Bowman N.A., Jarratt L., Jang N., Bono T.J., The unfolding of student adjustment during the first semester of college, Research in Higher Education, 60, 3, pp. 273-292, (2019); Bye L., Muller F., Oprescu F., The impact of social capital on student wellbeing and university life satisfaction: A semester-long repeated measures study, Higher Education Research & Development, 39, 5, pp. 898-912, (2020); Campbell J.D., Trapnell P.D., Heine S.J., Katz I.M., Lavallee L.F., Lehman D.R., Self-concept clarity: Measurement, personality correlates, and cultural boundaries, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 1, pp. 141-156, (1996); Chessman H., Taylor M., College student mental health and well-being: A survey of presidents, Higher Education Today, a Blog by American Council on Education, (2019); Cotten S.R., Wilson B., Student–faculty interactions: Dynamics and determinants, Higher Education, 51, 4, pp. 487-519, (2006); Cox B.E., McIntosh K.L., Terenzini P.T., Reason R.D., Lutovsky Quaye B.R., Pedagogical signals of faculty approachability: Factors shaping faculty-student interaction outside the classroom, Research in Higher Education, 51, 8, pp. 767-788, (2010); Deci E.L., Ryan R.M., Schultz P.P., Niemiec C.P., Being aware and functioning fully: Mindfulness and interest-taking within self-determination theory, Handbook of mindfulness: Theory, research, and practice, pp. 112-129, (2015); Du H., King R.B., Chi P., Self-esteem and subjective well-being revisited: The roles of personal, relational, and collective self-esteem, PLoS ONE, 12, 8, (2017); Glenn D., Patel F., Kutieleh S., Robbins J., Smigiel H., Wilson A., Perceptions of optimal conditions for teaching and learning: A case study from Flinders university, Higher Education Research and Development, 31, 2, pp. 201-215, (2012); Hamilton Bailey T., Phillips L.J., The influence of motivation and adaptation on students’ subjective well-being, meaning in life and academic performance, Higher Education Research & Development, 35, 2, pp. 201-216, (2016); Hanson J.M., Paulsen M.B., Pascarella E.T., Understanding graduate school aspirations: The effect of good teaching practices, Higher Education, 71, pp. 735-752, (2016); Kahu E.R., Nelson K., Student engagement in the educational interface: Understanding the mechanisms of student success, Higher Education Research & Development, 37, 1, pp. 58-71, (2018); Keyes C.L., Shmotkin D., Ryff C.D., Optimizing well-being: The empirical encounter of two traditions, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 6, pp. 1007-1022, (2002); Kim Y.K., Lundberg C.A., A structural model of the relationship between student–faculty interaction and cognitive skills development among college students, Research in Higher Education, 57, 3, pp. 288-309, (2016); Kim Y.K., Sax L.J., Student–faculty interaction in research universities: Differences by student gender, race, social class, and first-generation status, Research in Higher Education, 50, 5, pp. 437-459, (2009); Kim Y.K., Sax L.J., The effect of student-faculty interaction on academic self-concept: Does academic self-concept: Does academic major matter?, Research in Higher Education, 55, 8, pp. 780-809, (2014); Kuh G., The other curriculum: Out-of-class experiences associated with student learning and personal development, Journal of Higher Education, 66, 2, pp. 123-155, (1995); Kuh G.D., Hu S., The effects of student-faculty interaction in the 1990s, The Review of Higher Education, 24, 3, pp. 309-332, (2001); Lundberg C.A., Schreiner L.A., Quality and Frequency of Faculty-Student Interaction as Predictors of Learning: An Analysis by Student Race/Ethnicity, Journal of College Student Development, 45, 5, pp. 549-565, (2004); Mayhew M.J., Rockenbach A.N., Bowman N.A., Seifert T.A., Wolniak G.C., How college affects students, volume 3: Findings from the 21st century, (2016); Miller A.L., Williams L.M., Silberstein S.M., Found my place: The importance of faculty relationships for seniors’ sense of belonging, Higher Education Research & Development, 38, 3, pp. 594-608, (2019); (2018); (2018); Pascarella E.T., College environmental influences on learning and cognitive development: A critical review and synthesis, Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, pp. 1-61, (1985); Perna L., Studying college access and choice: A proposed conceptual model, Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, pp. 99-157, (2006); Ryff C.D., Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 6, pp. 1069-1081, (1989); Ryff C.D., Psychological well-being in adult life, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4, 4, pp. 99-104, (1995); Ryff C.D., Keyes C.L.M., The structure of psychological well-being revisited, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 4, pp. 719-727, (1995); Sax L.J., Bryant A.N., Harper C.E., The differential effects of student-faculty interaction on college outcomes for women and men, Journal of College Student Development, 46, pp. 642-657, (2005); Seifert T.A., (2005); Seifert T.A., Goodman K.M., Lindsay N., Jorgensen J.D., Wolniak G.C., Pascarella E.T., Blaich C., The effects of liberal arts experiences on liberal arts outcomes, Research in Higher Education, 49, 2, pp. 107-125, (2008); Tinto V., Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition, (1993); Trolian T.L., Jach E.A., Hanson J.M., Pascarella E.T., Influencing academic motivation: The effects of student-faculty interaction, Journal of College Student Development, 57, 7, pp. 810-826, (2016); Trolian T.L., Parker E.T., Moderating influences of student–faculty interactions on students’ graduate and professional school aspirations, Journal of College Student Development, 58, 8, pp. 1261-1267, (2017); Umbach P.D., Wawrzynski M.R., Faculty do matter: The role of college faculty in student learning and engagement, Research in Higher Education, 46, 20, pp. 153-184, (2005); Zepke N., Leach L., Butler P., Student engagement: Students’ and teachers’ perceptions, Higher Education Research & Development, 33, 2, pp. 386-398, (2014)
Routledge
Article
Scopus