Turkish College Students’ Trust in Professors and Engagement: “I trust therefore I engage!”

Abstract

The purpose of this study is threefold: 1) to determine the levels of university students’ engagement and trust in professors, 2) to investigate if there is a significant difference between students’ engagement and trust scores in terms of some variables, and 3) to explore the relationship between student engagement and trust in professors. The participants comprised 1840 university students studying at seven different faculties of Inonu University during the 2013-2014 academic year. A test battery containing demographic information, student trust scale and student engagement scale was administered to the participating students. Results showed that female students and students from earlier grades trust in professors and engage into classroom activities more. Regression analysis results, also, indicated that students’ scores on trust in professors explained approximately 16% of the total variance in student engagement. This implies that when students trust in their professors they tend to engage in lessons more, which, in turn, brings about better learning.