Faculty Members' Lived Experience of Faculty-Student Interaction in the Academic Environments

 The purpose of the present study was to examine the faculty members' lived experience of faculty-student interaction strategies in the academic environments.

 The research method was phenomenology in which the faculty members' perceptions of interaction with students were examined. The statistical population of study consisted of 81 faculty members of the Faculties of Science and Physics of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman during the 2018-2019 academic year. By purposeful sampling and theoretical saturation procedure, 18 individuals were selected as the sample. Interview questions were prepared through in-depth research on the subject of faculty-student interactionand the interviews were semi-structured. The three-step coding method including open, axial, and selective codingwas used for data analysis.

 The findings showed that the conditions for the formation of the student-student interaction included the contextual and enhancing factors such as student perception of the subject, holding of debugging hours, motivation in the faculty and student, and reducing factors such as the nature of course theory, the student's low academic level, high volume of practical work, limited time, and lack of self-confidence. The results also showed that student engagement strategies and methods were included general, conditioned, and studentinteraction strategies. In addition, the consequences of adopting faculty-student interaction strategies also includedstudent-centered outcomes such as scientific, personality, social, occupational, as well as faculty-based outcomes such as gaining experience, updating faculty’s information and knowledge, inner satisfaction, and feedback was provided to identify strengths and weaknesses. 

 The results have important implications for higher education curriculum planners in order to improve the areas of faculty-student interaction. Accordingly, it is necessary to use interactive content with a practical and collaborative nature, and teaching methods based on different interactive strategies, and planning to provide more student access to the faculty through out-of-class activities and provide more opportunities for students to communicate with the faculty members on a more personal level.