The Impact of Instructor Care on College Students' Academic Help-Seeking

• In Event: Classroom Supports for Cognition and Self-Regulation

Abstract

Seeking academic help from instructors is a self-regulated learning strategy critical to success in college, yet many students do not seek help even when facing academic challenge. Building upon theories of help-seeking and conceptions of instructor care, our study used a two-phase qualitative approach to examine how college students know when an instructor cares about them and how these perceptions of the instructor influence their help-seeking behaviors. We discovered that the most important indicators of instructor care are when instructors get to know students personally, show that they are willing and available to help, and display positive affect. Further, our findings suggest that these characteristics of instructor care influence students’ help-seeking behaviors in the face of academic challenge.

Authors

• Rachel Martin, Washington University in St. Louis

• Rowhea M. Elmesky, Washington University in St. Louis

• Andrew C. Butler, Washington University in St. Louis