Mid-term exam: Teacher-student Relations (multiple-choice test)

Lately there have been many disputes between faculty and students on university campuses. From an outsider's point of view, it looks like these bastions of higher learning are rapidly changing, and all that is left of the longstanding "ethical code for student-teacher relations" (the so-called shidao, in which teachers are held in high esteem, while being expected to be moral paragons) is empty slogans. On today's campuses, how do students and professors see the people around them?

In an effort to piece together this puzzle, Sinorama has done a questionnaire survey of students and faculty in nine institutes of higher education in the Taipei area: National Chengchih University (NCCU), National Taiwan University (NTU), National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), Fujen Catholic University, Soochow University, Chinese Culture University, Taipei Medical College, the World College of Journalism and Communication and Ming Chuan College. (The first three are state-run institutions, the latter six are private.)

The questionnaire, entitled "Teacher-Student Relations on the Modern Campus," asked students and teachers to respond to the same questions so that we may compare their attitudes. There were 93 valid responses from professors, and 303 from students. Because the survey included so many schools, the number of respondents from any one school was limited, but the results still provide much interesting food for thought.

Do you think it is essential to preserve this tradition today?

Respect is important, but....

First off we asked about the ethical tradition of holding teachers in high esteem by virtue of their positions, while expecting them to be moral paragons. Has this tradition disappeared from contemporary Taiwan society? The responses showed a clear distinction between students and faculty. About 60% of professors believed that this tradition still survives in society, while only about 40% of students felt the same way. About one quarter of both groups held more pessimistic views, while nearly 30% of students did not have a clear opinion on this issue. (See Question 1.)

The rising challenge to the traditional ethical code is felt most directly by students at NTNU, the nation's elite teacher training university. Three-quarters of student respondents from NTNU felt unable to say that there is still high regard for faculty. In recent years, about a tenth of NTNU graduates have decided to forego teaching (a decision which means they have had to repay the government for their educations, which are paid for by the state). "You hear more and more stories about teachers being subject to physical intimidation, and you can feel that the professional respect for teachers has declined. Yet we have always been told that education is a noble profession. It really gets confusing," is how one NTNU student puts it.

Despite the confusion, 90% of instructors and 85% of students still feel that, ideally, the shidao code should be maintained. This suggests that there is a broad consensus on maintaining these values that have been imbued in everyone since childhood. (Question 2.) But how to do this in daily campus life is another conundrum altogether.

Do you think faculty should be given first priority for use of a school's public resources （like parking spaces）?

Private consumers?

Many of the recent disputes between students and faculty have involved public resources--parking spaces, research rooms, and so on. In the past teachers quite naturally enjoyed priority, but this privilege is being challenged by students today. Should teachers have priority in using public resources on campus? Two-thirds of teachers said yes. On the other hand, less than 30% of students agreed, while more than 40% rejected this idea. (Question 3.)

"Both students and professors are equally important parts of the school body, so why should the interests of the students be sacrificed to those of the faculty?" "Making things convenient for the professors just means providing services that make it easier for them to take outside work to make more money for themselves." Many students held such views.

Most teachers, on the other hand, said things like "Making things easier for us makes things easier for the whole student body." Or "the functions of a university are research and instruction. Professors do most of the research, and they also set the pace in instruction." This underlying difference between students and faculty reveals why such apparently trivial things like parking spaces can become so divisive. Meanwhile, torn between personal interests and overall interests, a full quarter of both groups found it impossible to respond.

Behind the struggle for rights and privileges, many students hold the view that "the customer should always get what he/she wants." Many teachers find this idea particularly unpalatable. "Teacher-student relations shouldn't be based on the buying and selling of knowledge; there should be some personal connection made," say professors. regardless of age. Yet students have a rather different view.

Two-thirds of faculty respondents disagreed with the proposition that: "Students pay tuition, and the idea that 'the consumer comes first' should apply to campuses as well." Although 45% of students also rejected this position, about a third approved outright while another quarter were somewhere in the middle. (Question 4.)

In this respect, there is a huge difference between state-run and private institutions. The percentage of students who approved of the consumer idea is much higher at our six private schools than at the three state-run ones; at all six private schools, the proportion of students agreeing exceeded the proportion rejecting the consumer point of view. At Taipei Medical College, the World College of Journalism and Communications, and Ming Chuan College, nearly 60% of students endorsed the consumer proposition. In contrast, only about 20% of the students at NTU and NCCU agreed, while at NTNU only 10% did so, marking a clear difference.

Students at private institutions pay nearly three times as much in tuition as those at state-subsidized schools (indeed, students at NTNU pay no tuition at all), so naturally these students are more likely to feel that they are "purchasing an education." "Every semester we pay almost NT$40,000 in tuition and other fees and expenses. If we aren't consumers, what are we?" complains one student at a private university. "Teachers come here and make money, while we have to pay."

While many students have reservations about putting "money above all," and feel that students should see themselves mainly as "recipients of education," the question often comes back to money: "We spend so much money, the school should give us better facilities and teachers, but it seems they have difficulty doing so." Meanwhile, all professors, regardless of whether they are at state-run or private schools, strongly rejected this consumer viewpoint.

Do you agree with the following statement: Students pay tuition, and therefore are "consumers," so on campuses they should benefit from the principle of "the consumer always gets that he wants.".

Declining image for teachers

Campuses and society were recently rocked by the "Lu An-ni incident." Behind this incident lay two key problems: Academic ethics and sexual harassment. These have raised doubts throughout society about the moral standing of professors. How have students and faculty viewed the incident and its fallout?

More than 70% of professors and 80% of students felt that the image of teachers has suffered as a result of the recent controversies. The percentage of students finding the impact to be "very great" exceeded 40%, while on the other hand more teachers than students felt that there has been no real impact. (Question 5.) Those professors who argue that there has been no impact say things like "those are individual problems, and don't reflect on the whole profession." But many more professors believe that the controversies have made life more difficult. "Plagiarism is a problem of credibility. If the instructors themselves plagiarize, how can we ask the students not to cheat on their exams? What would give us the status to evaluate the students' research?" wonders a professor who has been teaching for more than two decades.

From the students' point of view, the teachers are supposed to be knowledgeable and elevated, and they have power over the students' grades. Yet their own conduct is open to question, "so it looks like the teachers are not all that high and mighty, either."

Should students then have the right to publicly criticize their profs, or is that too disrespectful? On this point there was a wide divergence of opinion, for both groups of respondents. (Question 6.) A plurality of professors kept a neutral view, saying "it depends on the situation." About 30% said "private communication with the professor would be better," while another 30% said "students have the right to make their opinions public."

It is noteworthy that of the 19 NTNU students in our sample, 12 of these future teachers said that public criticism of professors does not constitute disrespect. That's a higher percentage than at any other school. "Teachers should take their work seriously. It's only right if they are criticized because they have done something inappropriate," explains one NTNU respondent.

Both teachers and students--over 90% of each widely agreed that there is no inherent conflict between questioning a teacher's views in class and respecting the professor. (Question 7.) But many teachers added a caveat: "Attitude is important. Some students ask questions in such a way that it sounds like they are cursing the teacher." "Teachers should have the character to accept challenges, but students should be polite about it."

Have accusations by students in the media of plagiarism and sexual harassment by professors had an impact on the image of teachers?

No right to evaluate deportment

In university life, teachers and students only see each other in passing in class, and they have few opportunities to really get to know one another. The advisor system, still in existence, was set up in hopes that professors would not only teach students in class, but also help mold their characters and help them outside of class. There are still meeting times set aside each week, participating professors collect a special advisor's stipend, and they are responsible for helping grade the student for conduct each semester.

But many students and faculty feel that the system is not functioning well in the changing campus environment. Many students feel that their advisors are "too busy," that "I feel bad about bothering him [or her]," that "we really can't communicate well," or that "it's enough for me to talk to my friends if I have a problem." Meanwhile, the teachers say that the students are too busy, and figure the advisor’s spends are better spent taking everybody out to dinner or for an outing at the end of the semester.

Given the not-especially-close relations that exist, should advisors really have the right to evaluate their students' behavior? More than 60% of responding students answered no. (Question 8.) " Advisors and students only see each other a couple of times a semester, so how can they make a proper evaluation?" Though over 40% of faculty felt that advisors should retain this right, a nearly equal amount took the opposite view, suggesting that professors themselves are deeply divided on this issue.

Roles are reversed in the system of student evaluations of professors, the institution of which several years ago came as a real shock to many faculty. Today, however, there seems to be a general consensus on this issue. (Question 9.) As far as the students are concerned, while a majority of students at all ages agreed that they should have the right to evaluate their professors, the percentage increases with the age of the students. Thus 65% of freshman, 76% of sophomores, and more than 80% of both juniors and seniors agreed. By the time you get to graduate school, not a single respondent disagreed. This indicates that they feel more willing and able to evaluate their professors as time passes.

"Only the students know for sure how well the professors can teach," says one university student. While faculty generally agreed, still one-fifth had other ideas. One educator contended that the teachers one most likes while in school are not necessarily those whose teaching has the most lasting benefit for a student's entire life; perhaps only after a decade, when the student has grown up, can he or she really see which was the "conscientious professor and true friend."

If students feel that teachers have acted inappropriately and publicly criticize the teachers, are they showing excessive disrespect?

Who sends cards?

In the Chinese tradition, the teacher's role included not only "teaching the material" but also "teaching the man," which is to say, molding the student's character. Outside of the classroom, should teachers today have the responsibility to help students adapt and solve their problems with campus life? About 75% of profs said they still feel this responsibility, but only about half of students felt the same way, while 30% offered no clear response either way. The only exception was at NTNU, where not a single student felt that teachers "have no responsibility" outside the classroom.

Clearly teachers are unable to dispense with this feeling of responsibility, and the teacher training system expects that teachers will accept these beyond-the-classroom responsibilities. But university students today have a different point of view. Many feel that university students are already adults, "and we don't need teachers as baby-sitters." But profs are still handed this burden. "Though university students are adults, if something happens to them, society and the parents will always first try to pin the responsibility on the professors," says one academic.

Students don't want the professors putting their noses in the students' personal business, but about half of students said they would welcome their profs to join them in student activities. And half of the responding faculty said they would be happy to join in. But a third of both groups responded, "It depends on the situation," or "It depends on who (or which class) it is." In contrast to the 15% of students who would not welcome their teachers to join them, no teachers said they "very much dislike participating."

Students in Taiwan commonly give cards to their teachers as a sign of respect(especially on Teachers' Day). But nearly 70% of students said that the tradition of giving cards as a sign of affection is waning on campuses. Yet less than 30% of teachers had the same feeling. This is an intriguing difference, for one might well ask whose cards teachers are receiving. At least one teacher has found that his former students send more cards than his current ones.

Do you agree with the following statement: Opposing or expressing doubts about the teacher's viewpoint in class is a sign of disrespect.

Knowledge takes a back seat

In the past university students were called "Heaven's favored children." Entering the bastion of academe symbolized the starting point on the road to knowledge, cultivation, and social development. Absorbing knowledge from the teacher was the first step toward a bright and glorious future.

But these days the students' expectations for an ideal relationship with their professors have changed with the times. In the past, it was enough for the teacher to "transmit knowledge" or "develop ideas in common." But in our survey more than 40% of students most aspired to "sharing life experiences" with their professors, that the student should stand is relation to the teacher as a "recipient of knowledge" to a "provider" was secondary. However, less than 10% of profs felt that their ideal connection to students should be "sharing life experiences." (Question 10.)

The gap between students and professors may reflect their different eras and roles. Thus, Chen Chiao-mei, director of Academic Affairs and also a professor of psychology at NCCU, says "these results are completely what you might expect." She notes that as far as professors are concerned, transmitting knowledge is the easiest task. But for the majority of students, on the other hand, knowledge is but one part of campus life.

"Knowledge can be acquired from books. But contemporary life changes very rapidly, so sharing of life experiences is very important," argues Chen.

Today's students are no longer confined to the ivory tower. They work part-time, travel or study abroad, and learn from their experiences in society; they want to be part of the larger world off-campus. One instructor says that her students show little vitality when talking about their course work, but when she starts telling them about her overseas trips, their eyes light up.

Do you think university faculty should have the right to give students grades for conduct?

Mutual incomprehension

It seems, then, that there is a "generation gap" when students and teachers look at each other. And, in fact, professors and students are not necessarily satisfied when they look at themselves either. We learned this by asking respondents to sum up their overall views of students and of teachers in one phrase.

Respondents were allowed to respond freely on the questionnaires, and gave a dazzling variety of answers. We found it possible, in turn, to group these under ten or so headings. Though this large number means that no single answer ranks very high in percentage terms, there is still no harm in comparing them.

First we look at how teachers see other faculty. The top five responses, in order, were "professional and responsible," "of uneven quality," "only interested in those things that are useful for personal advancement," "occupied with many outside pursuits," and "hard-working." The top five responses given by students to describe their teachers, on the other hand, were "unconcerned about students," "able to teach the material, but not able to develop the individual's character," "knowledgeable," "of uneven quality," and "enthusiastic and sincere."

When teachers commented on students, their top five responses were "not studious," "only interested in those things that are useful for personal advancement," "disrespectful of their teachers," "impractical," and "lively and fun to be with." Students' views of themselves were "just muddling through without real effort to learn," "only interested in those things that are useful for personal advancement," "free," "independent," and "ignorant."

Interestingly, while both students and faculty seem to have largely agreed on their impressions of students-lack of effort and self-interest figure prominently in responses by both groups-there are differences in the most common responses with regard to teachers. Whereas a plurality of teachers (more than 10%) chose "professional and responsible" to describe the typical university level educator, a plurality of students (also over 10%) said that their overall impression of faculty in general is that they are "unconcerned about students."

Regardless of whether they are evaluating their own group or the other, today's university students and teachers had relatively little to say of a positive nature; most comments were negative. Is this really what they are trying to say? Or is it that current discourse in society is customarily done with a critical attitude and negative descriptive terms? As one link in the chain of relationships in the larger community, to what extent does the microcosm of the campus reflect something about society in general? That's a question that deserves everyone's attention.

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Do you believe that the traditional high degree of respect for teachers still exists in our society?

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Do you think it is essential to preserve this tradition today?

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Do you think faculty should be given first priority for use of a school's public resources (like parking spaces)?

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Do you agree with the following statement: Students pay tuition, and therefore are "consumers," so on campuses they should benefit from the principle of "the consumer always gets that he wants."

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Have accusations by students in the media of plagiarism and sexual harassment by professors had an impact on the image of teachers?

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If students feel that teachers have acted inappropriately and publicly criticize the teachers, are they showing excessive disrespect?

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Do you agree with the following statement: Opposing or expressing doubts about the teacher's viewpoint in class is a sign of disrespect.

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Do you think university faculty should have the right to give students grades for conduct?

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Do you think students are qualified to judge the teaching performance of their professors?

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In your view, which type of relationship is ideal for student-faculty relations at the university level?

Do you think students are qualified to judge the teaching performance of their professors?

In your view, which type of relationship is ideal for student-faculty relations at the university level?