Student-faculty relationships and its impact on academic outcomes

The aim of this review of the literature is to synthesis the knowledge attained about determinants of student-faculty relationships and its impact on student outcomes. While adding to the body knowledge, the researchers discuss the importance, barriers, and facilitators to student-faculty academic relationships in nursing education.

We conducted a narrative literature review using a modified version of the framework of the Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome method to develop the research question for this review. That question was: What determinants of undergraduate nursing students' relationships with faculty affect those students' academic outcomes?

To search and review the literature systematically, we entered the specific criteria into the EBSCOhost interface. The following databases were used for data sourcing: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Plus with Full Text; Teacher Reference Center; Education Resources Information Center; Medline; and Theses and Dissertations. We selected only full-text, peer-reviewed sources that were written in English for final inclusion.

After the retrieval of 56 reports via an EBSCO host search, abstracts were reviewed and 29 were rejected based on the exclusion/inclusion criteria. The rejected reports met some or no criteria and not others; or showed little to no association with determinants of nursing student-faculty academic relationships or students' academic outcomes. An inductive method of analysis was used to review and extract emerging themes.

Findings revealed four core determinants of student-faculty relationships: support, caring, diversity, and incivility. These determinants were interrelated and appeared to have an impact on student academic outcomes.

Nursing institutions should be proactive to ensure that barriers such as incivility are reduced and that diversity is included and appreciated in the teaching and learning environment. Additionally, a caring and supportive climate of learning should be emphasized and enacted by nurse educators.