Professors' conceptualization on students

Abstract

This paper explores the conceptualization of university professors on their students in a university environment. Through the use of open interviews based on a multiple sorting procedure of cards with the names of their students written on them, professors were asked to use their own criteria to create categories in order to identify the conceptual system for assessing their students. The study identified concepts such as: physical appearance, intellectual abilities, academic performance, attitudes toward the academic process, interpersonal relationships, some personality characteristics, and the potential for job performance. The analysis of results leads to stress the importance of investigating thoroughly the constructs that are part of the tacit assessment of professors over their students and the possible role that could be playing these constructs in the quantitative assessment of the student's academic performance.