Abstract:

Student-staff interaction is an academic engagement practice in both formal and informal academic settings with great influence on student academic performance. This study presents a systematic literature review on how authors have investigated different factors that influence student-staff interaction from the perspective of different learning stakeholders to determine:
(1) the educational level (primary, secondary, and tertiary education) that has been the focus of the studies on student-staff interaction,
(2) what type of data has been investigated and the mode of data collection commonly used,
(3) which data analysis method is commonly used, and
(4) which factors have been identified that influence the student-staff interaction.

The study identifies four major student–staff interaction stakeholders; the institution, the parent, the student and the teacher/faculty, and gives light on the nature of their respective influence on the interaction, exposing the dynamic mechanisms that underpin interaction between students and staff. The study found that the factors impacting student–staff interaction have been explored commonly using surveys mode of data collection and statistical data analysis methodologies at the tertiary education level. The findings also reveal 40 distinct factors that authors have identified from the perspectives of teachers, students and parents. Also, critical characteristics that discourage and encourage student-faculty interactions are highlighted in this study. Faculty, student, learning professionals, and administrators are all beneficiaries of the findings and their implications.

Keywords:

Student-Staff Interaction, Student Engagement, Systematic Review, Determinants of Student-Staff Interaction.