Thesis
You Know?: Decoding ‘Knowing’ in the English Professor/Student Relationship.pdf
(2018)
Abstract
This project uses a grounded theory methodology to study what university professors mean when they talk about “getting to know students.” Eight tenure-track and tenured English professors participated in the study. To represent the various fields within this English department, the sample of eight professors includes creative writing, literature, and writing studies faculty. Data for this study consisted of individual interviews and class observations. After coding the data, four categories emerged: Determining the Degrees of Knowing, Building Class Rapport, Maintaining Class Rapport, and Leveling the Playing Field. I argue that “knowing students” is a multi-dimensional relationship I describe with “the distance-degree continuum.” In this continuum, distance, degree, roles, and rapport act on one another to offer a more complete picture of “knowing” than relying on any one element in isolation. In my discussion of how the distance-degree continuum operates, I point to the distinction between professors who “rule break” and those who “role break.” Rule breaking includes engaging in explicitly prohibited relationships with students, while role breaking is less black and white. Professors can role break either intentionally or accidentally by stepping out of the roles that are typically appropriate and productive in their relationships with students. I conclude that for “knowing” to be productive between professors and their students, it must serve a pedagogical purpose, and remain bounded by the intent of the relationship: to teach and to learn.
Keywords
- Grounded Theory,
- University Professors,
- English Department,
- Knowing Students,
- Getting to Know Students,
- Professor/Student Relationship,
- English Professors,
- Level Playing Field
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring May 17, 2018
Degree
Master of Arts, English Language and Literature
Citation Information
Chloe Allmand. "You Know?: Decoding ‘Knowing’ in the English Professor/Student Relationship.pdf" (2018) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/chloe-allmand/1/