Professor–Student Rapport Scale Predicts Student Outcomes

Abstract

Rapport traditionally has been measured in therapy or in other one-on-one relationships such as with roommates. As yet, no scale is available to measure professor-student rapport. In this study, 51 undergraduates created items to measure professor-student rapport, and subsequently, 195 different college students rated their agreement with items based on their professor. Factor analysis revealed 1 meaningful component of professor-student rapport represented by 34 items. Rapport correlated with professor immediacy, providing convergent validity. Hierarchical linear regression with immediacy entered first and rapport entered second revealed significant improvement in prediction of student attitudes toward the instructor and the course as well as student motivation, perceptions of learning, and self-reported grades. Thus, we propose that professor-student rapport as measured by the current scale serves as a useful predictor of valuable student outcomes.

Professor-Student Rapport Scale: Psychometric properties of the brief version

“…As described in Wilson et al (2010), the PSRS was developed by asking college students to provide their definitions/indicators of professor-student rapport, and the resulting measure was statistically derived from those items and subsequently shortened. As such, the PSRS-B provides an assessment of professor-student rapport that values the students' perspective.…”

“…The accompanying scree plot revealed two components, with only items on component 2 predicting student outcomes well. Component 2 contained 6 items and comprised the Brief Version of the Professor-Student Rapport Scale (PSRS-B; Wilson & Ryan, 2013). The brief version requires students to rate each item on a scale from 1 to 5 ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.…”

“…The original scale was created based on studentprovided items that they believed reflected having rapport with their professors (Wilson et (Wilson, Ryan, & Pugh, 2010).…”

“…Previous research showed the PSRS-B's ability to predict single-item measures (Wilson & Ryan, 2013). In the current study we administered both single-item and lengthier measures to more rigorously assess student outcomes and to better assess various aspects of student learning and student perceptions.…”

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“…Recently, researchers (Wilson, Ryan, & Pugh, 2010) emphasized the correlation between positive studentinstructor relationships and learning. These researchers highlight a number of immediacy behaviors (e.g., use of humor, respect for students, selfdisclosure) that are associated with positive student attitudes, course grades, and motivation.…”