Classroom Incivilities: The Challenge of Interactions between College Students and Instructors in the US

Abstract

This study investigates patterns in classroom incivilities among pre-tenure geography faculty at US colleges and universities. The analysis considers experiences of different groups of faculty, and societal and institutional contexts for faculty and student expectations. Most respondents reported experiencing minor incivilities, a minority outright hostility. Women reported experiencing more incivilities than other demographic groups. Large class size increased reports of misbehaviours. Instructors' physical appearance was also noted as influencing student–faculty interactions. Instructors' approaches to incivilities differed among groups. Non-White and international instructors reported fewer instances of confronting misbehaviours. Mentoring and sharing expertise are identified as key ways to support instructors.

Keywords:

• Incivilities
• classroom interactions
• teaching strategies
• diversity
• gender

Notes

¹ Bray and Del Favero (2004) further note that, owing to the power dynamics of the classroom, it is typically the instructor rather than the student who defines what is considered an incivility.

² Contrary to the relative scarcity of studies of classroom incivilities in higher education, there is an extensive body of literature on classroom problems at the elementary and secondary school levels, as well as numerous studies concerning cheating and plagiarism (Davis, 1993; McKeachie & Svinicki, 2006).

³ The same phenomenon was described by Wei (2007).

⁴ Previous research found that female instructors not only experience more discipline problems but also receive lower scores on student evaluations (Wei, 2007).

⁵ More about the GFDA can be found at: http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gfda/gfda.html.