Faculty's Perceptions of Students' Characteristics: A for Effort Please

Authors

  • Sharon Stevens Western Illinois University
  • Deb Miretzky Western Illinois University

Abstract

 

This pilot study explored how undergraduate students are perceived by higher education faculty regarding their initiative and abilities. Faculty tended to agree that students are engaged in class, but more specific skills and attitudes needed to perform successfully in college are not as apparent to them. Around half of faculty respondents with at least 10 years experience in higher education agreed these skills and abilities are declining. Emergent themes from comments suggest faculty believe students’ skills and work ethic have declined while their sense of entitlement (e.g., to high grades) has increased. Comments also suggest faculty believe the decline is a result of a lack of preparation in basic skills from secondary school, the overall culture and politics of secondary education, students’ unrealistic perceptions of the expectations in higher education, and students’ active lifestyles outside of classes.

 

Author Biographies

Sharon Stevens, Western Illinois University

Deb Miretzky, Western Illinois University

Debra Miretzky is an Assistant Professor in the Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies department at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois. She teaches education law and policy and social foundations courses for teacher candidates, and is interested in the impact of such courses on teachers and their work in the classroom.

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Published

2012-08-14

How to Cite

Stevens, S., & Miretzky, D. (2012). Faculty’s Perceptions of Students’ Characteristics: A for Effort Please. Current Issues in Education, 15(2). Retrieved from https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/875

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 2 (2012)

Section

Spring/Fall Issue

License

Authors retain copyright without restrictions. Unless otherwise indicated, from 2021 all articles are published under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license. For more information visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Articles published prior to 2021 used a CC-BY-NC-SA license.