Informal Student-Faculty Intraction: Its Relationship to Eductional Gains in Science and Mathematics Among Community College Students

Abstract

The central purpose of this study was to examine the connection between informal student-faculty interaction, the perceived quality of effort asserted in science courses, and perceived educational gains in science and mathematics-based courses for community college students within the context of Pace's (1979) concept of social and academic involvement. Pace's "quality of effort" concept of social and academic involvement assumes that the effects of college on students' differential patterns of growth and development can be assessed through the efforts students expend in utilizing the resources provided by higher education institutions. A path analytic model is proposed for the present study operationalizing constructs developed from previous research on the positive influences of informal student-faculty interaction on students' academic achievement in science and mathematics. This examination tested the hypothesized model's applicability in the study of the disparity between men and women persisting in science- and mathematics-based majors.