"If You Don't Know This, I Feel Bad for You": Experiences That Damage Student-Professor Trust

• In Event: Faculty-Student Interactions in the Classroom

Abstract

Relational trust is fundamental for human learning. Decades of research has found that trust is important in K-12 educational contexts, but there is a dearth of research that explores the antecedents and outcomes of the trust students place in their professors. The purpose of this study is to explore students’ experiences of trust in their professor being damaged. Using data from interviews with 76 undergraduate students, I found six themes across the data: maintaining the hierarchy, lacking awareness of student vulnerability, not trusting students, poor communication, small interactions can have a large impact, and damaged trust is often lost trust. This proposal highlights two of these themes and discusses the significance of this study.

Author

• Peter Bjorklund, University of California - San Diego
  Presenting Author