Exploring Student Entitlement at an Ontario College By Mark Hanna A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright Mark Hanna 2016 Exploring Student Entitlement at an Ontario College Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Mark Hanna Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of student entitlement specifically within the context of an Ontario College, focusing on conceptualizing student entitlement from the faculty perspective, and then determining the extent to which students report entitled attitudes. The study followed a mixed-methods methodology. Faculty were invited to participate in a concept mapping exercise and the resulting concept map proposed a four-factor model for student entitlement; including, “Tuition Equals Outcomes”; “Knowledge is a right that doesn’t require effort”; “I am a customer, serve me”; and, “Problems are due to others, not me”. A Student Entitlement questionnaire was assembled using highly rated items from each factor. From the results of the questionnaire, confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory principal components analysis were conducted, and the analyses suggested that the model for student entitlement at the Ontario college would be best be described by a three-factor model, with the “Knowledge is a right” factor identified by faculty being removed and the items under that factor fitting well within the three remaining factors. ii Based on the three-factor model, raw and standardized student entitlement scores were assembled. The distribution of entitlement was normal, with approximately 15% of respondents in the High or Very High categories. When controlling for age, over 18% of respondents in the Traditional age category (18-24) were in the High or Very High categories. The impact of entitlement includes harm to the student’s learning, which could ultimately impact society as a whole, particularly in fields where students are working with vulnerable populations, such as in health care or social services. Student entitlement also impacts faculty in terms of lower job satisfaction and a pressure to succumb to students’ demands, particularly when faculty feel a lack of support from the administration. This study made suggestions for practice; including, changing the way we market to students; focusing on a transition/orientation program that would specifically address the transition from customer to student; using students’ customer orientation strategically by improving services for students; and, a review of student feedback questionnaires and the process surrounding their administration. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to show recognition for the many individuals who contributed to the realization of this doctoral thesis. The members of my thesis committee provided great support and direction, and my supervisor, Dr. Peter Dietsche, provided tireless support for me in the development of my research proposal and the writing of the thesis. Peter, your words of encouragement gave me the fuel to keep going. The staff and students at the subject college were key to the success of this project, as both were required as research participants. The level of engagement with my project was truly humbling and I am eager to use what we have learned to good use. Special recognition must be given to Alvina Cassiani, Dean of The Business School at Humber College, for her kind support throughout my doctoral studies. Finally, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my wife, Nancy, and my children, Abigail, Benjamin and Charles. Thanks for giving me the time and support I needed to get this done. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 Background and Statement of the Problem Situation ........................................................... 2 Rationale: Why is this important? ........................................................................................... 3 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................ 6 Summary of Chapter One ........................................................................................................ 7 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................. 8 How is entitlement defined? ..................................................................................................... 8 Are Entitlement and Deservingness synonymous? .............................................................. 10 Relationship between Entitlement and Narcissism .............................................................. 15 Profile of an entitled student .................................................................................................. 22 Entitlement: Pervasive or Context-Specific? ........................................................................ 23 Social construction of Entitlement ......................................................................................... 28 Neoliberal Government Policy .............................................................................................. 28 Helicopter Parenting .............................................................................................................. 31 “Student-Centred” Learning .................................................................................................. 32 Methodological influences from the literature and Rationale for New Measure .............. 34 Faculty and Student Perspectives Informing Measurement Creation ................................... 34 Construct Validity.................................................................................................................. 36 Rationale for creation of new measure; Context ................................................................... 39 Summary of Chapter Two ...................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................ 42 Participants .............................................................................................................................. 43 Rationale for Research Design ................................................................................................... 43 Study Procedure ......................................................................................................................... 45 Research Question 1 – How do faculty at a Greater Toronto Area (GTA) college conceptualize student entitlement? ........................................................................................ 45 v Research Question 2 – How does this conceptualization map to Kopp et al’s (2011) five facets of the theoretical basis academic entitlement? ............................................................ 48 Research Question 3 – Do students in an Ontario college validate the conceptualization of student entitlement derived from faculty? ............................................................................. 49 Research Question 4 – What is the prevalence of student entitlement in a GTA college? ... 54 Research Question 5 – What is the impact of student entitlement behaviour from the faculty perspective? ........................................................................................................................... 54 Summary of Chapter Three ................................................................................................... 56 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS .................................................................................................. 57 Research Question 1 – How do faculty at a Greater Toronto Area (GTA) college conceptualize student entitlement? ........................................................................................ 57 Research Question 2 – How does this conceptualization of entitlement map to Kopp, Zinn, Finney, and Jurich’s (2011), five facets of the theoretical basis of academic entitlement? .............................................................................................................................. 60 Research Question 3 – Do students in an Ontario college validate the conceptualization of student entitlement derived from faculty? ............................................................................ 62 Initial Assembly of Items for Student Entitlement (SE) questionnaire ................................. 63 Completion of Questionnaire; Adding items from Chowning and Campbell (2009) ........... 65 Pilot Testing the SE questionnaire with Student Focus Group ............................................. 67 Full Administration of Student Entitlement survey ............................................................... 73 Response rates ......................................................................................................................