How Students see the Role of University Lecturer

Abstract

This paper examines the normative expectations which university students have of their lecturers. These expectations clearly centre on the teaching activities of staff, but research and other professional activities are seen to have their place. In many ways, student requirements of their lecturers are being met, yet it is clear that there are felt problems. What underlies student dissatisfaction? There are indeed the oft-referred to problems of communication: student knowledge is limited concerning what lecturers do. Yet in areas where they have knowledge, students are sometimes dissatisfied. Lectures can be `too theoretical and divorced from real life'. Differences in values are involved. While most staff place value on the communication of theoretically important ideas, many students see study as a means to getting a degree. In addition, student dissatisfaction can be rooted in conflicts of substantive interest. Staff wish to do research. Students require more individual contact. Time for research cannot also be employed for teaching purposes. If students come to have a clearer picture of the competing claims on staff time, they may understand why their requirements are not met. Yet this would not, by itself, do anything to meet those requirements.