Student Incivility in Higher Education

Abstract

Observed frequently within higher education settings, student incivility need to be dealt with since they affect teaching-learning process adversely. The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of student incivility in higher education and coping techniques employed by academics. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected together with a measurement tool developed by the researchers. The method of the research is a mixed method and qualitative and quantitative data were collected at the same time. A total of 250 academics working at universities in Turkey have voluntarily participated in the study. During the analysis process, construct validity concerning the quantitative data obtained from the data collection tool has been established through DFA, and parametric test statistics have been applied for data analysis. The results obtained from the study have indicated that not studying, playing with the cell phone, and not listening to the lecture are among the most frequent students’ uncivil behaviors the academic witness. A significant difference has been identified between the two independent variables of the research –“seniority & working period at the current university”- and student incivility. The academics think that as seniority and working period at the same workplace increase, students show less of uncivil behaviors. “Verbal warning” has been noted as the most frequent method used by academics to deal with these kinds of behaviors. The implications of these findings for intervention design and development and further research are discussed.