Publication Date

2017

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Shimizu, Hidetada, 1960-

Degree Name

Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)

Legacy Department

Counseling, Adult and Higher Education

LCSH

Higher education; Teaching

Abstract

In an environment in which performance funding for higher education is increasingly common, mechanisms for improving student success will be important for ensuring a consistent revenue stream for higher education institutions. One important factor found to improve student success is when students perceive rapport with faculty. However, there is a significant gap in the qualitative literature demonstrating how faculty develop and improve rapport with students. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to interview award-winning faculty to investigate how they develop rapport with their students. As a result, a qualitative study of 15 award-winning faculty from throughout the eastern and midwestern United States, representing community colleges, small and medium-sized colleges, and universities---was conducted. Semi-structured interviews were held in-person, during which participants were asked to explain how they built rapport with their students. Primary coding to the resulting transcripts occurred using in-vivo and descriptive coding techniques. Secondary coding to sort and organize the initial codes allowed for the emergence of five important themes of rapport-building. The five important themes that emerged from this research are (a) develop trust and make the classroom a "safe learning environment," (b) promote personal contact with students and show them the teacher cares, (c) share personal information without making the classroom a stage for satisfying a teacher's personal ego, (d) promote interstudent rapport, and (e) select authentic approaches for building rapport.

Comments

Advisors: Hidetada Shimizu.||Committee members: Daryl Dugas; Gene L. Roth.||Includes bibliographical references.||Includes illustrations.

Extent

vi, 119 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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