Understanding Academic Help-Seeking Through the Lens of Psychological Power Distance

• In Event: AERA Graduate Student Research-in-Progress Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Student Support, Sense of Belonging, and Mental Health Outcomes in Education Contexts (Table 6)

Abstract

This paper explores preliminary findings from a longitudinal qualitative study of first-year STEM students, examining the connection between students' academic help-seeking (use of formal academic supports, office hours, and question-asking) and psychological power distance: individual beliefs about power, hierarchy, prestige, conflict with authority, and social distance. We aim to illuminate differences in students' academic help seeking as choices which may be influenced by students' psychological power distance. Furthermore, we use psychological power distance (PPD) to better understand academic resource preferences. Findings have potential to aid academic success centers and faculty seeking to support student learning in STEM courses by providing insight into how psychological power distance is at play in teaching and learning, enabling power distance-informed development of supports.

Author

• Amy Jane Rodgers Awtrey, University of Cincinnati