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A Social Exchange Perspective on Outside of Class Interactions between Underrepresented Students and Faculty

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Abstract

Existing explanations of faculty-student interactions emphasize social-organizational characteristics of higher education to the exclusion of social-psychological dimensions of the interactions themselves. Yet, student perceptions are essential cognitive elements that influence frequency of, and growth from, informal interaction with faculty. Drawing on a survey of students at a large public university, this paper expands theoretical understanding of faculty-student interactions by considering how social exchange theory helps explain frequency of, and growth from, informal interactions—and how such patterns vary by social identity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Thai-Huy Nguyen for comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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Data requests may be sent to the first author at: drj@unr.edu

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nevada, Reno, USA

    David R. Johnson & Robert Miller

  2. West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    Christopher P. Scheitle

  3. Truckee Meadows Community College, 7000 Dandini Blvd, Reno, NV, 89512, USA

    Ashley Juvera

  4. Western Nevada College, 2201 W College Pkwy, Carson City, NV, 89703, USA

    Vincent Rivera

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  1. David R. Johnson
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  2. Christopher P. Scheitle
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  3. Ashley Juvera
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  4. Robert Miller
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  5. Vincent Rivera
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Correspondence to David R. Johnson.

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Johnson, D.R., Scheitle, C.P., Juvera, A. et al. A Social Exchange Perspective on Outside of Class Interactions between Underrepresented Students and Faculty. Innov High Educ 45, 489–507 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-020-09518-6

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