Educating for Civic Engagement in Higher Education: The Role of Student-Faculty Interactions

• In Event: Interpersonal Interactions in College

Abstract

This study examines the association between student-faculty interactions, an undergraduate experience known to promote a host of positive student outcomes, and students’ involvement and motivation in civic engagement. While recent research has suggested that today’s students are more engaged than those in the past (Eagan et al., 2015), additional research is needed to understand what might catalyze civic engagement. Using longitudinal data from the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California, Los Angeles, this study examined the relationship between undergraduate student-faculty interactions and senior students’ motivation and involvement in civic engagement. Results suggested that student-faculty interactions were positively associated with a composite measure of senior students’ civic engagement.

Authors

• Teniell L. Trolian, University at Albany, State University of New York

• Elizabeth Jach, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Ellen Bara Stolzenberg, University of California - Los Angeles