Lecturer-student Relationship Research Articles

Assessing the Quality of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: Perspectives from a South African University

This research investigates the notions of quality teaching and learning at Mandela University, centering on lecturers and students as pivotal stakeholders. Using Schindler et al.’s model, the study explored how these internal groups perceive quality in higher education (HE). A qualitative, participative, and visual methodology, inspired by the Mmogo-method® and grounded in social inclusion theory, was employed. This approach fostered an interactive environment for a collective understanding of HE quality through collaboration and participation. The results revealed differing views between lecturers and students on what defines quality. Lecturers viewed it as an action-oriented process, emphasizing tangible elements such as inputs, outputs, policies, and strategic areas. In contrast, students perceived quality more subjectively, focusing on intangible aspects, particularly the attitudes within the lecturer-student relationship. The practical implications of the study suggest the potential for a comprehensive evaluation process to foster a quality-driven culture at Mandela University. It underscores the significance of collaboration, communication, cooperation, and meaningful engagement among all stakeholders during both development and implementation phases. Although the context’s influence on defining quality in HE was not markedly different, notable references included Africa’s challenges and the graduates’ commitment to their communities. Overall, this study redefines perceptions of quality in higher education, highlighting the essential role of stakeholder involvement in nurturing a quality-focused institutional culture. By embracing diverse perspectives and committing to continuous improvement in teaching and learning, it proposes enhancing the overall quality of higher education at Mandela University. Keywords: Quality assurance; Higher Education, Teaching, Learning, Mandela University

Social Capital, Culture, and Codes in Higher Education: Bourdieusian and Bernsteinian Philosophical Underpinnings in the South Africa Environment

Social capital ignored is an “object of political and ideological struggle” created to stifle working-class students in educational spaces. Furthermore, as societal dynamics are constructed in the student-lecturer relationship, this article seeks to evaluate how deliberative democracy in the online higher education space can inspire care through the ongoing dialogue between student and lecturer. This is framed against the Bourdieusian (social capital) and Bernsteinian (social code) framework because both theorists’ work highlights how the dominant class (represented by lecturers) consciously and unconsciously tends to ignore students’ social and cultural capital and codes. This, in turn, leads to a lack of dialogue and care in student-lecturer relationships in higher education. One of this study’s findings is that higher education is aimed to support more middle-class students. The reason for this is that our findings show that lecturers tend not to know what to do with the social habitus of working-class or disadvantaged students. The aforementioned phenomena were foregrounded through Bourdieusian (social capital) and Bernsteinian (social code) model that is situated in the sociological approach, which is interpretive in nature, to explore whether dialogue and care were shown.

Impact of Lecturer-Student Relationship on Student Academic Performance in Federal University, Oye-Ekiti

The study investigated the impact of the lecturer-student relationship on student academic performance at Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti state. A descriptive survey design was adopted. The study population comprised all Federal University, Oye-Ekiti undergraduates, totaling 25,000 students. A sample of 250 (10%) undergraduate students at Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, was randomly selected for the study. Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The Lecturer-Student Relationship on Students’ Academic Performance Questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. Data collected was analyzed using percentage distribution, while the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient was conducted to test the research hypotheses that guided the study at a .05 significance level. It was revealed from the analysis that (a) the level of lecturer-student relationship at Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, is high; (b) The analysis revealed that the nature of the lecturer-student relationship on student academic performance in Federal University, Oye Ekiti, was highly interpersonal relationships that bridged the gaps between lecturers and the students as well as lecturers and the community; and (c) The analysis also revealed that the impact of the lecturer-student relationship on the academic performance of males and females in Federal University, Oye Ekiti are improvement in personal growth, values, and attitudes, development of close personal relationships with other students, intellectual growth and interest in ideas, intellectual stimulation, and satisfied intellectual stimulation. It was recommended, among other things, that the university’s management should give incentives to lecturers who promote high relationships with students in schools.

Conceptualizing the Academic Management and Lecturer-Student Relationship for University Students’ Achievement Motivation in China

China has attached great importance to education. In 2019, since the higher education gross enrolment rate achieved 51.6%, Chinese higher education entered the stage of popularization, which makes China face new problems and challenges. In the stage of popularization, there are some adjustments in academic management and lecturer-student relationship, which have influences on the students’ achievement motivation. In order to further clarify the connotation and relationship of academic management, lecturer-student relationship and achievement motivation, and then take better measures to stimulate students' achievement motivation, this paper introduces the basic situation and systematically reviews the relevant literature, then designs the research methodology. The paper has a more profound and clean understanding of the three concepts (academic management, lecturer-student relationship, achievement motivation), and then puts forward the conceptual framework of the research, which can make some contributions to the improvement of the quality of university personnel training.

The Importance of Building a Relationship Between Lecturers and Students for Student Satisfaction with Remote Learning

This article aimed to determine the significance of student-lecturer relationships in the context of remote learning to answer the following question: What is the relationship between student-lecturer relationships and student satisfaction with remote learning, feedback, the assessment process, lecturers’ digital competencies and students’ competencies related to remote learning? To achieve this aim, an online survey was conducted on a sample of 206 students from Milenium University in Gniezno, Poland (return rate approximately 42%) in the spring of 2022. The data were analysed through the application of mediation analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics and the Jamovi software. The main finding of the study is that the student-lecturer relationship is crucial for ensuring students’ satisfaction with remote learning. This paper contributes to the literature by explaining the potential impact of other factors on the student-lecturer relationship variable.

Intimacy Over Power Developing Learners’ Motivation: A Study At ESP Class

This current research attempts to show that intimacy relationship of student to student has a bigger influence rather than power relationship of lecturer – student to raise motivation in learning process. Certainly, the so-called power in social variable has directly affected in lecturer-student relationship even though the influence is not as big as intimacy relationship has. The relationship between student to student is much easier to communicate for their academic business and even for personal range of problem. It is actually a very potential aspect to raise their motivation in learning. Before collecting primary data, the researcher investigates preliminary data by applying participant observer. After gaining it, the researcher collects primary data through interview. 63 students from English for Specific Purposes class on the fifth semester of English education department at IAIN Bone are asked. Finally, the data are explained by using descriptive qualitative analysis. As a conclusion, intimacy factor among learners is more influential in raising motivation of language learning over power factor held between lecturer and learners. Feeling pleasant to communicate about learner’ incomprehension to their friends, supporting, co-working, and even pushing to strive or to finish the duty become the implementation of the friendship role in intimacy among learners. On the other hand, the respondents could feel clumsy, nervous, shy, or disinclined to express what they have in mind to the lecturer. It is, of course, ultimately affecting the way learner communicates to their lecturer.

The Role of Positive Youth Development as a Mediator of the Relationship between Family Function and Lecturer-Student Relationship

The final project is a graduation requirement for students and the quality of the lecturer-student relationship significantly impacts its successful completion. Several studies have shown that the satisfaction of students in their relationship with lecturers is majorly influenced by family function, but there is limited data on this association.. Therefore, this study aims to examine the mediating role of positive youth development in the effect of family function on the lecturer-student relationship. A quantitative explanatory approach was used and the sample population consisted of 171 active students in the 8th to 14th semester of the undergraduate program at University X. The instruments used included the Positive Youth Development (PYD), family function, and lecturer-student relationship scales. The hypothesis was tested with the mediation analysis model 4 using the SPSS Process Hayes V.4 program. The results showed that PYD partially mediated the effect of family function on the lecturer-student relationship. Furthermore, the indirect effect of family function was only significant through the mediation of prosocial norm, belief in future, and recognition for positive behavior.

Trust in lecturer–student relationships as a factor supporting entrepreneurship

Purpose This paper aims to identify trust’s role in the student–lecturer relationship and to identify the factors that build trust in this relationship, as well as the mechanisms through which trust influences entrepreneurial intentions and behaviours. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents the results of empirical research based on a semi-structured interview questionnaire. The participants included 12 entrepreneurs, 25–40 years old, who were running their own small enterprises. They were categorised by industry. Findings This study’s results suggest that entrepreneurship education based on trust in student–lecturer relationships contributes to the formation of entrepreneurial intentions and behaviours. This study has identified the factors that build trust between students and lecturers. Three mechanisms were also identified as having the greatest impact on transforming entrepreneurial intentions into actions: increasing self-efficacy, cultivating a broader perspective and encouraging initiative and risk taking. Research limitations/implications An obvious limitation of this research is its small sample size. Moreover, this study’s respondents were all entrepreneurs running small companies – mainly start-ups – with up to 50 employees established by entrepreneurs up to four years after graduation. Additionally, the majority of the sample were men of Indian nationality. In subsequent studies, including more diverse respondents would be useful. Moreover, a quantitative survey of a larger sample with greater gender and cultural diversity would be worthwhile to test the proposed model. Practical implications This paper helps explain the trust’s importance in the student–lecturer relationship. This paper reveals how relationships should be established to support entrepreneurial learning outcomes. Originality/value The results of this research expand the knowledge on trust-building between students and lecturers that can develop successful entrepreneurial attitudes amongst students and help students succeed as entrepreneurs. To the authors’ knowledge, no previous research had examined this topic. This study’s results are probably more universally relevant than our limited sample suggests, so further in-depth research is needed.

INVESTIGATING ENGLISH ONLINE LEARNING IMPLEMENTATION DURING PANDEMIC: HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION

The huge and rapid spread of the pandemic COVID 19 has altered the educational works. Universities have shifted their learning delivery from traditional classrooms to online mode. This study aims to investigate students’ perceptions of online learning implementation in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighty students from the English Education Study Program took part in the research. A questionnaire with closed-ended questions was used to collect the data. The findings were presented using descriptive qualitative approaches. The findings of this study revealed that students had a positive perception toward online learning implementation in general. Conducting the online learning during a pandemic is seen as an effective, motivating, and efficient method of gaining knowledge. Few students, however, had a negative perception about internet connection, particularly in remote areas, as well as the learning environment, in which few students will complete assignments honestly since the lecturer is unable to supervise them, which affecting their learning success. Students also felt the need for improvement in terms of student-lecturer relationship and engagement.

Student perceptions of humour in teaching politics and international relations: a focus group study

Politics and International Relations (Pol & IR) lecturers can capitalise on the established relationship between comedy and political analysis by using humour techniques to enhance the student learning experience and to develop students’ critical analysis skills. Using collected data from focus groups with 21 British and International undergraduate students from four UK universities, this small-scale empirical study advances a methodology that enables participants to engage in collective meaning-making without being restricted by a closed-ended question survey. This research highlights student perceptions that humour attempts can make concepts memorable, improve student-lecturer rapport, and increase student engagement and motivation when lecturers consistently adopt a friendly persona and use humour to supplement high-quality lecture content. Mild self-deprecation by lecturers improves the student-lecturer relationship. Lecturer "banter" with students is risky, but might be acceptable if the lecturer’s persona is consistently humorous and sufficient student trust is developed. Participants considered that analogies and pop culture references are beneficial explanatory tools, especially for complex Pol & IR concepts or theories. Memes were considered to be most effective when used as a summarising or concluding point, thus corroborating the "educate before subvert" principle.

Student Engagement and Learning Approaches during COVID-19: The Role of Study Resources, Burnout Risk, and Student Leader–Member Exchange as Psychological Conditions

Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to explore the interplay of psychological conditions that influenced personal engagement among university students. As a theoretical lens through which to investigate this, the study used the job demands-resources model, the study demands-resources model, and the leader–member exchange theory. This study further aimed to explore outcomes that supported students in becoming lifelong learners (i.e., deep-learning approach). Method: Participants were undergraduate students registered at a South African university. We used a purposive, non-probability sampling strategy and employed a cross-sectional survey research design. This study used Mplus version 8.6 for the statistical analyses. Results: Results showed that the psychological conditions of meaningfulness (study resources), availability (burnout risk), and safety (student–leader–member exchange) influenced student engagement. In addition, the results showed that study demands were positively associated with student engagement, although this association can be regarded as small. Furthermore, study resources and student engagement were associated with a deep approach to learning. Conclusions: Findings from the present study demonstrated that Kahn’s theory carried implications beyond the workplace and held true in a student learning environment. Further, an exploration of the psychological conditions that led to engagement showed that the job demands-resources model and the study demands-resources model could be used to operationalise study resources as psychological meaningfulness and burnout risk as availability. Similarly, in the context of exploring the student-lecturer relationship, student leader–member exchange could be operationalised as psychological safety. Implication for Practice: Leaders in higher education are encouraged to focus not only on ensuring that students receive adequate support in terms of structures and physical resources during periods of uncertainty, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic, but to adopt a holistic approach that includes considering all the psychological conditions that encourage and promote students’ engagement.

The Undergraduate English Students’ Perception, Plan, and Implementation of Critical Thinking Skills in Their Presentation

Previous studies shows that several learning strategies have been used to promote critical thinking skills for students at the university level, the most frequently used is presentation. The students in the third semester of the English department in IAIN Pekalongan have distinctive responses regarding their critical thinking skills in their presentation. This study aimed to explain students’ perception, plan and implementation in their use of critical thinking skills in their presentation. This study was qualitative case study. The data gathered by classroom observation, questionnaires, and interviews. The findings showed (1) The students positively perceived their use of critical thinking skills in their presentation, they believed that critical thinking skills help them to enable their presentation, English skills, and performance (2) the students plan their critical thinking skills by preparing the schema, skills, and practicing (3) the implementation of critical thinking skills in students' presentation by combining students' awareness, activeness, and learning style. Theoretically, critical thinking skills are fundamental to be implemented in higher education students. Practically, the result of this study gave benefit for the lecturer in giving students challenging tasks that encourage them to use their critical thinking skills. Pedagogically, the implementation of critical thinking skills in students’ presentations needs a student-lecturer relationship.

Students’ Perceptions on Teaching Effectiveness among Lecturers

The role of lecturers in determining students’ academic excellence is important. No matter how smart a student is, the knowledge gained may not be effective without the teaching of a lecturer. The effectiveness of lecturers’ teaching from the perspective of students is important in producing an excellent student who is able to overcome various obstacles in life and become an asset to a country. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the students’ perspective on the effectiveness of lecturers’ teaching Economic courses. The sample of this study consists of 300 diploma students from various faculties who study at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Pahang Raub Campus. The instrument used is a questionnaire distributed to the respondents using stratified random sampling. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. This study found that the effectiveness of lecturers’ teaching can be seen from the aspect of the lecturers’ personality, teaching methods, attitudes and lecturer student relationship. The findings also show that the main characteristics in the lecturers’ personality which of students’ choice are friendly, firm, caring, punctual and diligent. The Multiple Regression Analysis results show that the lecturers’ knowledge and teaching experience are the dominant factors that influence their grades. Furthermore, this study did not deny that the lecturers’ who are friendly, easily approachable and love to joke are also significant estimators for the students’ academic achievement.

Exploring Undergraduates' Perception on Assessments and Feedbacks at Selected Nigerian and South African Rural Universities

The role of lecturers in tertiary institutions of learning is crucial. Some of the crucial roles of lecturers include assessment and feedbacks provided to students. These are considered as contributory factors to improving or hampering the learning abilities of students. Hence, this study explored the effects of assessment and feedback on the learning abilities of students in selected rural based universities in Nigeria and South Africa. Quantitative research method was employed for the study. Thus, data were collected from respondents through the use of questionnaires which were administered to nine hundred and thirty-four (934) randomly selected third-year undergraduate students from two Nigerian and South African rural based universities. The collected data were analysed through the use of descriptive statistics. The results revealed that lack of innovation, large classes and poor internet amongst others are factors affecting the form of assessments and feedback given to students. Also, poor assessment and feedbacks contribute in hampering the learning abilities of students. The study therefore recommends that more lecturers should be employed, empowered through the provision of necessary facilities as well as all-encompassing periodic on the job trainings and workshops. These trainings and workshops are to be designed in such a manner that lecturers will be motivated and taught various ways on how to promote good lecturer-student relationship, improvise in creating and using different assessment and feedback strategies, acquire and utilize best practices across the globe on assessing and giving feedback to large classes.

Factors Affecting Academic Performance of In-Service Students in Science Education: A Case of The University of Zambia

The study sought to determine factors that affected academic performance of in-service students in Science Education Degree Programme at the University of Zambia. The study was motivated by the knowledge gap as to why it was common in Science Education at the University of Zambia for both school leavers and in-service students to be excluded from school, repeat courses or change to non-science programmes due to poor academic performance. In order to have in-depth understanding of the phenomenon being studied, a case study design was used. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to collect data from 88 respondents. Simple random and purposive sampling procedures were used to select the study sample. 80 students were selected by simple random sampling procedure. This procedure was used in order to allow all the students to have an equal chance to be selected for the sample. Purposive sampling procedure was used in order to select the lecturers and tutors. The procedure was used to select the lecturers and tutors because they were the only ones with adequate knowledge about Science Education Degree programme at the level of lecturers which the researchers were inquiring. The study findings showed that several factors adversely affected academic performance of the in-service students who were studying Science Education Degree programme at the University of Zambia. These included; inadequate supportive lecturer-student relationship, combining Science with Mathematics in one programme, dilapidated classroom infrastructure especially the laboratories, too much content in the curriculum of which some was considered irrelevant to what was taught in schools, personal life problems and responsibilities, pace at which material were being delivered in class was too fast for them, poor attendance to lectures and laboratories by students themselves. In addition, students were stressed by their own poor academic performance and they had difficult to comprehend advanced concepts in Mathematics. Based on these findings, the study recommended that (1) the school of Education should introduce a programme in Science Education specifically for student training to be teachers of science, (2) review its current curriculum so that its content relates with what is taught in schools, (3) in order to support the students who felt the pace of delivery was too fast for them, there was need to encourage group discussion among them,(4) the school should provide a conducive learning environment by preparing classroom infrastructure and providing adequate learning materials.

An Exploration of Absenteeism among Nursing Students in the context of a South African University

Background: Absenteeism among university and college students is a global challenge. Not only does absenteeism result in inadequate learning, but it also disrupts the way in which classes are conducted. Objective: The study sought to explore and understand the reasons for absenteeism from the perspectives of the nursing students in the context of a South African University. Methods: The study used an explorative qualitative design to conduct four focus group discussions with undergraduate nursing students. Tesch’s method of data analysis was followed. Results: One theme and four sub-themes emerged, such as the negative attitudes of lecturers, poor guidance and lack of prompt feedback from lecturers, lack of commitment from lecturers and classes starting late, and inability of the students to cope with the workload. Conclusion: The study revealed that the main reasons for the students’ absenteeism from scheduled learning experiences were related to the lecturers’ behaviour and practices. The poor lecturer-student relationship discouraged the students from attending classes.

Factors that Influence Attitudes of Computer Science Students towards Mathematics and Related Courses at the Tertiary Level of Education

The main purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence the attitudes of computer science students towards the teaching and learning of mathematics and related courses in a public university situated in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. To achieve this, a descriptive survey design was adopted. In addition, a quantitative approach to data collection and analysis was employed for the study. The target population for the study were all Bachelor of Education (Computer Science) and Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) students in the said university. In all, 150 students were randomly sampled and used as the respondents for the study. The main instrument used for data collection process was a structured questionnaire. The study found that instructor or lecturer-student relationship have an influence on the students’ attitudes towards the teaching and learning of mathematics and related courses. Also, the mathematics curricula used at the university have influence on students’ attitude towards the teaching and learning of mathematics and related courses. In addition, institutional factors such as time allocation on time table and the adequacy of teaching and learning resources has some form of influence on students’ attitude. Implications of the findings are further discussed in the study.

Casualised academic staff and the lecturer-student relationship: Shame, (Im)permanence and (Il)legitimacy

This paper is based on findings from an email interview study with 20 academics (17 women, 3 men) in the UK on short-term, insecure or ‘casualised’ contracts. The paper focuses on their perceptions of the effect their contract status has on the lecturer/student relationship: particularly in regard to student perceptions of their legitimacy and status. Using a poststructuralist theoretical lens, we explore lecturers’ concerns or anxieties as to whether they may be interpreted as less legitimate than permanent staff; and the emotional labour involved in the work done to ‘cover’ for the difficulties that a lecturer’s contract status causes for the quality of their teaching content and organisation. We also explore the considerations of some participants to voluntarily ‘disclose’ their status to students and the possibilities of such acts as a form of resistance to dominant discourses of the legitimate academic.

Lecturer-Student Relationship and Its Influence on Students’ Academic Performance among Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

This study investigated the impact of lecturer-students relationship on students’ academic performance at Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Edo State. To guide the study, four research questions were raised and three hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 alpha level of significance. This study employed the expost-facto type of correlational research design. The population of the study consisted of all undergraduates in Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Edo State. The sample of the study consisted of 100 undergraduates from the university. The instrument used for this study was questionnaire titled ‘Lecturers-Students Relationship Questionnaire’ (LSRQ). This instrument was made up of three sections. Section A consisted of ten (10) items on teacher’s level of commitment on a five-point Likert scale of: Very High (VH), High (H), Moderate (M), Low (L) and Very Low (VL).SectionB also consisted of ten (10) items on students’ attitude and academic performance on a five-point Likert scale of: Often Like Me (OLM), Like Me (LM), Partially Like Me (PLM), Unlike Me (UM) and Never Like Me (NLM) while section C solicited students’ last academic session’s GPA which was used to measure their academic performance. The instrument was validated by three experts; one in the field of Measurement and Evaluation and the other two from Counselling Psychology. They ascertained the face and content validity of the instrument. The test-re-test method was used to establish the reliability of section B of the instrument and it was found to have a reliability index of 0.72 using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The data collected were analyzed using the descriptive statistics of mean and the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Statistics. The study revealed that there was a significant relationship between lecturer-students relationship and students’ academic performance; there was a significant relationship between lecturer job commitment and students’ academic performance and there was a significant relationship between students’ attitude and students’ academic performance in Benson Idahosa University, Benin City. It was, therefore, recommended that lecturers, in universities should have good and appropriate relationship with their students since it was revealed that this relationship facilitated improvements on the students’ academic performance. Schoolcounsellors should encourage the students to change their attitude towards learning so that they would be able to achieve their maximum potential in life.

Exploring Effects of Lecturers–Students’ Relationship on Students Academic Performances in Selected Rural Universities

This study explored the effects of relationships between lecturers and students on the learning abilities of students in selected rural universities. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were adopted for data collection. Questionnaires were administered to 934 randomly selected students and interviews were conducted for 8 purposively selected lecturers in two rural based universities in South Africa and Nigeria. The findings of the study show that student–lecturer relationship influence the learning abilities of students and consequently affect their academic performance in different ways. The self-confidence of students is dependent on the relationship, however, lecturers are sceptical about relating with students due to the tendencies of being misunderstood by students who may be disrespectful to them. Amongst others, the study recommends that periodic workshops, seminars and trainings which are aimed at promoting cordial student–lecturer relationship, influencing, motivating and ensuring that lecturers relate adequately and appropriately with their students should be organised.