Faculty and Student Perceptions of Incivility Behaviors in the Counselor Education Classroom

Abstract

A paucity of research exists on the topic of classroom incivility, defined as actions that disrupt the classroom learning environment, initiated by counseling graduate students and faculty. Through a quantitative descriptive survey design examining current perceptions of incivility in the graduate counseling classroom for both graduate students (N = 173) and faculty (N = 72), the authors found that (a) graduate students and faculty were consistent in their perceptions of the types, frequency, and severity of incivility behaviors; (b) students view faculty actions taken to reduce incivility as less effective compared to faculty perceptions; and (c) graduate faculty contribute to graduate classroom incivility. Practice implications and issues for future research are discussed.

Students’ and Professors’ Perception of Occurrence and Disturbance of Disruptive Classroom Behaviors

“…Among them, the highest grades are given to behaviors like chatting, using the cell phone and being unprepared for the class (without basic supplies). This is in line with previous research (Paik & Broedel-Zaugg, 2006;Gannon-Leary, 2008;Bjorkland & Rehling, 2009Ausbrooks, Jones, & Tijerina, 2011Sterner, Jackson-Cherry & Doll, 2015). However, it should be mentioned that no matter how low the prevalence of some behavior might be, it still does not mean that it is a small problem for a teacher.…”

“…al. (2009) Sterner et al (2015) found that students view faculty actions taken to reduce incivility as less effective compared to faculty perceptions. Similary, Ausbrooks, Jones and Tijerina (2011) indicated that faculty tended to perceive disruptive behaviors less serious and frequent than students.…”