Student-faculty interaction: Mediating between student engagement factors and educational outcome gains

Abstract

The concepts of engagement have long been said to bring forth positive outcomes on students' university schooling. The reports of the National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE) in the US have opened up various discussions on the benefits of such meaningful activities. On the other hand, the reemergence of the Chinese academies called Shuyuan or residential colleges have been spreading to both the East and West. It is said that the concept of having students living together with their faculty would instill a sense of belongingness that fosters learning. More important, both models of learning have within them the notion of student-faculty interactions. To dwell further on these concepts, the current study shall focus on the analysis of residential college students in Taiwan. A total of 724 students from four key universities that practices the model of residential colleges were surveyed. Structured equation modelling was accomplished resulting in the verification of a model of learning. Results show that student-faculty interaction successfully mediated the effects between the student engagement factors and students' educational outcome gains. The current results further provided an empirical proof of the importance of quality student and faculty communications and interactions. The current study hopes that the findings will be able to help educational administrators, policy makers, and researchers in designing future curriculum programs that fosters meaningful learning.

Building bridges in higher education: Student-faculty relationship quality, student engagement, and student loyalty

“…Just like customers' evaluations, students' perceptions of the quality of the relationship they have with their educational faculty/staff should also be considered. In higher education, positive interactions between students and their faculty and staff could have a positive influence on student development and involvement (Hu, Hung, & Ching, 2014;Kim & Sax, 2009;Kuh & Hu, 2001). In turn, students' perceptions of the quality of their relationships with educational faculty and staff (i.e., relationship quality) which is based on these interactions, might result in student engagement (Bowden, 2009) and student loyalty (Hennig-Thurau et al, 2001).…”

Student–Faculty Engagement

“…Moreover, student contact with faculty outside of class has been found to be an independent predictor of learning and cognitive growth—its statistical association with intellectual development remains significant even after controlling for differences in students’ ability, prior levels of development, and prior educational experience (Tinto 1993). Thus, the positive impact of student–faculty contact outside of class is neither mediated by nor a byproduct of other college experiences and student characteristics (Hu, Hung, and Ching 2015). Its association with positive student outcomes cannot be simply dismissed by the argument that high‐achieving students are more likely to initiate and engage in out‐of‐class contact with faculty.…”

The influence of senior secondary school teachers on students’ achievement in Gao-Kao

“…Van Uden, Ritzen and Pieters (2013) stated that student engagement is an important precursor for learning and has been shown to be related to better academic achievement. Hu, Hung, and Ching (2015) also explained that the idea behind student engagement is to allow students learn by interacting with their peers and teachers. A teacher is a professional who is responsible for facilitating the teaching-learning activities by various means.…”