With millennial students as the primary population in many higher education institutions today, many instructors experiencing a paradigm shift of behaviors they are observing in their classroom. Many educators are observing today’s students failing to take personal responsibility for their educational endeavors and in turn viewing their educational experiences as a services-for-payment relationship rather than an exploration of knowledge. With this shift and the ever present consumerism type behaviors now being observed, the role of instructor has changed and many are seeking tools to effectively manage their students and classroom

Plunkett, Anthony D.

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The Qualitative ReportVolume 19 | Number 12 How To Article 33-24-2014A's for Everyone: The Effect of StudentConsumerism in the Post-Secondary ClassroomAnthony D. PlunkettHarrison College, mail4plunkett@yahoo.comFollow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqrPart of the Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, andthe Social Statistics CommonsThis How To Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Qualitative Report at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in TheQualitative Report by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact nsuworks@nova.edu.Recommended APA CitationPlunkett, A. D. (2014). A's for Everyone: The Effect of Student Consumerism in the Post-Secondary Classroom. The QualitativeReport, 19(12), 1-3. Retrieved from https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol19/iss12/3A's for Everyone: The Effect of Student Consumerism in the Post-Secondary ClassroomAbstractWith millennial students as the primary population in many higher education institutions today, manyinstructors experiencing a paradigm shift of behaviors they are observing in their classroom. Many educatorsare observing today’s students failing to take personal responsibility for their educational endeavors and inturn viewing their educational experiences as a services-for-payment relationship rather than an exploration ofknowledge. With this shift and the ever present consumerism type behaviors now being observed, the role ofinstructor has changed and many are seeking tools to effectively manage their students and classroom.KeywordsStudent Consumerism, Classroom Management, Disengaged Students, Teaching ToolsCreative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.This how to article is available in The Qualitative Report: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol19/iss12/3The Qualitative Report 2014 Volume 19, How To Article 5, 1-3 http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR19/plunkett5.pdf     A’s for Everyone: The Effect of Student Consumerism in the Post-Secondary Classroom  Anthony D. Plunkett Harrison College, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA   With millennial students as the primary population in many higher education institutions today, many instructors experiencing a paradigm shift of behaviors they are observing in their classroom.  Many educators are observing today’s students failing to take personal responsibility for their educational endeavors and in turn viewing their educational experiences as a services-for-payment relationship rather than an exploration of knowledge. With this shift and the ever present consumerism type behaviors now being observed, the role of instructor has changed and many are seeking tools to effectively manage their students and classroom. Keywords: Student Consumerism, Classroom Management, Disengaged Students, Teaching Tools   Student Consumerism is a collection of different types of beliefs and behaviors such as the belief that all factors of a student’s educational endeavors are negotiable such as grades, timelines, and expectations. Increasingly, students view education as a service for which they have paid and for which in turn they expect a commensurate high grade regardless of their actual learning or effort (Harris, 2007). Lack of personal responsibility is also a major tenet of the Student Consumerism phenomenon.  For many, college once represented an entire host of positive educational experiences to which participants may not have previously encountered (such as having the freedom of attending classes of their own choosing).  College represented a major paradigm shift from a childlike pedagogical learning style to an adult or andragogical format that acknowledges that learners have a role in contributing to their own educational achievement (Taylor, 2006).   The present college population is from a more socially diverse background than previous populations found on college campuses. Activism may have once been the more noticeable activity on campus in previous generations whereas the more prevent in today’s higher education classroom is Student Consumerism. As educators work to develop their students’ skills and understanding of qualitative inquiry and a desire to build their base of knowledge, they are often now faced with apathetic students. There has been an observed shift in the attitudes within the academic classroom, especially among the Millennial students (Rickes, 2009). Unfortunately this shift tends to learn more towards unrealistic expectations from students and the desire to simply be given the grade they want rather than what they have earned. Most post-secondary educators may have experienced Student Consumerism behaviors in their classrooms at one point or another. It has been determined that the phenomenon is almost exclusively displayed by students from this generation and often correlates to the increase in the Millennial student population in many colleges and universities today.  Traditionally, for post-secondary students, the responsibility of engaging in their learning was placed squarely on the shoulders of the students themselves.  The traditional college educational paradigm emphasized greater student responsibility which was an alluring psychological milestone in personal development in that success and failure rested in their hands as they themselves decided where to allocate resources such as where to go to school and what classes to attend (Harris, 2007).  Unfortunately for many educators, the wide-eyed optimism that was once prevalent has turned to pessimism and angst.  The image 2  The Qualitative Report 2014 of engaged and respectful students actively participating in their education has been replaced with disrespectful attitudes, inattentiveness in class and student who consistently question their grades to school administration. Gone are the days where students come to class to learn and expect to work for and earn the grades they receive.   The cause of this dissonance is that educators are experiencing a shift in student attitudes regarding educational achievement that is vastly different from the traditional known paradigm.  As pointed out by Harris (2007), “the traditional faculty role in guarding academic integrity and quality faces challenge by this wave of consumerism” (p. 192). The unfortunate reaction to the Student Consumerism behaviors from many post-secondary educators is fear and obsequiousness to the requests and demands of the students. Student Consumerism causes instructors to fear the students, fear their administrators, and most unsettling, creates the fear of losing their jobs.  Student Consumerism causes meaningful and well intentioned instructors to behave in such a manner that is counter to their instincts and morals.  Educators who were once excited about guiding their students through the qualitative inquiry process are now simply looking for ways to appease their students in order to maintain retention and in turn, their job. Educators working with today’s students need a set tools that can help them to manage their classroom and work to bring students back to looking are learning as a journey. The development of tools to help reduce the incidents of Student Consumerism behaviors that may be exhibited in the post-secondary classroom can help faculty better deal with these types of behaviors. Some effective tools for the classroom are:  Develop clear and detailed course policies  Clear and detailed course policies provide a written document of what is expected from all students in your class and can often work as an “insurance policy” when students question a grade on an assignment or why late penalties were imposed on late work.  Be clear in your expectations at the beginning of the class  Spending more time in the beginning, providing detailed instructions to the students not only answers many of the questions but also increases the probability that issues will not arise in the future.  Keep students accountable for their actions and education  Often students will spend more time looking for excuses for not completing work than they would have spent completing the actual assignment. By reiterating your expectation and grading consistently and fairly, students will hopefully gain an understanding of the role in their education and that they are accountable for the work and the subsequent grades earned.  Provided detailed feedback and guidance  Often students (especially Millennial students) struggle with criticism of their work. Be consistent in your grading, providing rubrics and positive feedback along with the constructive criticism on their work can often provide students the motivation and understanding to improve future work. While tools such as these can help an instructor when dealing with students, what can be done to combat the effect of Student Consumerism in the post secondary classroom? While removing the primary engagers in these behaviors, the Millennial Student, is not Anthony D. Plunkett          3  realistic or advisable, it is important for educators to recognize these behaviors and have a set of tools in place to modify and reduce incidents of these behaviors. Comments are welcome. Please take some time to share your experiences with these types of consumerism behaviors in your higher education classroom. What has been your experience with these types of behaviors and what tools have you found to be effective?   References  Harris, M. S. (2007). Out out, damned spot: General education in a market-driven institution. The Journal of General Education, 55(3), 186-200.  Rickes, P. (2009). Make way for millennials! How today’s students are shaping higher education  space. Planning for Higher Education, 37(2), 7-17.  Taylor, M. L. (2006). Generation NeXt comes to college: 2006 updates and emerging issues. A Collection of Papers on Self-Study and Institutional Improvement, 2, 48-55.   Author Note  Anthony D. Plunkett has a PhD in Professional Studies in Education, and a MA in Organizational Management. He has several years of experience in higher education focusing on student engagement, student motivation, and development of engagement opportunities for first year and non-traditional students. Correspondence can be made to Anthony D. Plunkett at mail4plunkett@yahoo.com.   Copyright 2014: Anthony D. Plunkett and Nova Southeastern University.  Article Citation  Plunkett, A. (2014). A’s for everyone: The effects of student consumerism in the post-secondary classroom. The Qualitative Report, 19(How To 5), 1-3. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR19/plunkett5.pdf   

A\u27s for Everyone: The Effect of Student Consumerism in the Post-Secondary Classroom

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A\u27s for Everyone: The Effect of Student Consumerism in the Post-Secondary Classroom

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