Out-of-class communication: are students and faculty interested and engaged? (A study at a Russian university)
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Out-of-class communication: are students and faculty interested and engaged? (A study at a Russian university) Maria Kuryan1
· Elena Voronina2
Received: 5 November 2019 / Accepted: 29 August 2020 © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
Abstract The study looks into the problem of student–faculty communication. It addresses the issue of claimed scarcity of such interaction that exists despite the recognized benefits it can bring to students and instructors. It is suggested that examination and comparison of the participants’ interest and actual engagement in out-of-class communication (OCC) may shed light on this. Two populations from a university in Russia: 148 students and 35 instructors, were analyzed to measure their overall interest and engagement in OCC. The paper also addressed the question whether the studied populations are interested and engage in the same types of OCC. The results demonstrate that the reported overall interest in OCC was higher than the actual engagement in it among both groups of the respondents. Besides, students and faculty chose different types of OCC as most interest evincing and most frequently practiced. The research outcomes may help the parties concerned (scholars, teaching staff, educational managers and students) enhance understanding of the nature of OCC and its specifics and consider ways of harmonizing it in the best interests of all stakeholders. Keywords Student–faculty out-of-class communication (OCC) · Students · Faculty · Instructors · Higher education
1 Introduction Out-of-class communication (OCC) between students and instructors, generally understood as communication that occurs beyond the formal class boundaries, is often seen as an important contributor to the quality of educational experience and well-being of the participants (Farris et al. 2017; Mottet et al. 2006). Its interpersonal potential and positive effects on learning and teaching outcomes (Hagenauer and Volet 2014; Docan-Morgan and Manusov
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Elena Voronina [email protected] Maria Kuryan [email protected]
1
Department of Social Sciences, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 25/12 B. Pecherskaya Str, Nizhniy Novgorod, Russian Federation 603005
2
Department of Applied Linguistics and Foreign Languages, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 25/12 B. Pecherskaya Str, Nizhniy Novgorod, Russian Federation603005
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M. Kuryan, E. Voronina
2009) are in charge of it. However, despite extensive research into the nature of such communication and its dynamics, as well as institutional measures to promote it (NSSE 2018; Vito 2007; Golde and Pribbenow 2000; Pike et al. 2011), OCC seems rather underdeveloped (Fusani 1994; Cotten and Wilson 2006; Kuh and Hu 2001; Cox and Orehovec 2007). One of the explanations is a gap in the knowledge about “how [such] interactions are perceived, evaluated and experienced by students and teachers” (Hagenauer and Volet 2014, p. 382). Thus, the present study attempts to address this gap by providing an insight into the participants’ pred
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