Relational turning point events and their outcomes in college teacher-student relationships from students' perspectives

Abstract

This study investigates relational turning point events and their outcomes reported to occur by students in college teacher-student relationships. Six hundred and forty college students were asked if they could identify a turning point event with a college teacher. Students who were able to recall a turning point event (n = 394) completed open- and closed-ended survey questions pertaining to their perception of the turning point event, outcomes of the event, and their learning and motivation. Analysis of participants' responses yielded six meta-level categories of turning point events: instrumental, personal, rhetorical, ridicule/discipline, locational, and other person. Analysis of participants' responses also yielded 11 categories of outcomes of relational turning point events. Findings revealed that 80% of the reported events were perceived as positive, and 20% were judged to be negative. The findings also reveal that students who reported personal and locational turning point events were more likely than not to report a change in their willingness to approach the teacher or seek help. Further, students who reported personal, locational, instrumental, and other person turning point events were more likely than not to report a change in perceptions of the relationship with the teacher. Finally, the results indicate that relational turning point events appear to affect students' cognitive learning, affective learning, and motivation. In particular, students who reported instrumental, personal, and locational turning point events also reported increased cognitive learning, affective learning, and student motivation. Further, students who reported ridicule/discipline turning point events reported decreased cognitive learning, affective learning, and student motivation.