The Image of the University Instructor as a Factor in Students’ Assessment of the Educational Environment and Academic Motivation

In the context of the transformation of higher education and the shift from knowledge transmission toward the creation of a developmental educational environment, the role of the university instructor as a key agent becomes increasingly significant. The instructor shapes students’ academic motivation and their subjective perception of educational quality. Despite growing interest in the transformation of pedagogical roles, the design of educational environments, and the management of student motivation, these phenomena are often studied in isolation. This creates a methodological gap between the structural characteristics of the educational environment and the dynamics of students’ academic motivation. The relevance of this study lies in the need for a comprehensive approach to analyzing the perceived image of the instructor, the educational environment, and students’ motivational profiles.

The aim of the article is to examine the relationships between the perceived image of the instructor, students’ assessments of the educational environment, and their academic motivation. We hypothesized that students who perceive their instructors positively tend to evaluate the university environment more favorably and demonstrate higher academic motivation. We also assumed that these relationships may vary depending on students’ socio-professional characteristics. The study involved 348 university students from various Russian regions. Data were collected via questionnaire surveys using psychometric tools. The analysis employed exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, latent profile analysis, as well as comparative and correlational methods.

The novelty of the study lies in the conceptual, methodological, and empirical actualization of the instructor’s image as a key component of the university educational environment and its connection to student academic motivation. Three key dimensions were identified: inspirational-charismatic style, academic integrity, and personal maturity. For the first time, latent profiles of instructor perception were revealed, differing in levels of motivation and satisfaction with the educational environment. The findings extend existing models of educational interaction and have practical implications for designing university environments in which the instructor acts as a facilitator, mentor, and cultural mediator.

1. Efimov, V.S., Lapteva, A.V. (2017). University 4.0: Philosophical and Methodological Analysis. Universitetskoe upravlenie: praktika i analiz = University Management: Practice and Analysis. Vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 16-29, doi: 10.15826/umpa.2017.01.002 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

2. Tarэ Kasnakoрlu, B., Mercan, H. (2020). Co-Creating Positive Outcomes in Higher Education: Are Students Ready for Co-Creation? Journal of Marketing for Higher Education. Vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 73-88, doi: 10.1080/08841241.2020.1825031

3. Minina, V.N. (2020). Digitalization of Higher Education and Its Social Outcomes. Vestnik SanktPeterburgskogo universiteta. Sotsiologiya = Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Sociology. Vol. 13, issue 1, pp. 84-101, doi: 10.21638/spbu12.2020.106 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

4. Dingel, M., Punti, G. (2023). Building Faculty-Student Relationships in Higher Education. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning. Vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 61-82, doi: 10.1080/13611267.2023.2164976

5. Hagenauer, G., Volet, S.E. (2014). Teacher–Student Relationship at University: An Important Yet Under-Researched Field. Oxford Review of Education. Vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 370-388, doi: 10.1080/03054985.2014.921613

6. Koreshnikova, Yu.N., Avdeeva, E.A. (2022). To Interest or to Force? The Role of Academic Motivation and Teaching Styles in Developing Students’ Critical Thinking. Voprosy obrazovaniya = Educational Studies Moscow. No. 3, pp. 36-66, doi: 10.17323/1814-9545-2022-3-36-66 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

7. Kahu, E.R., Nelson, K. (2017). Student Engagement in the Educational Interface: Understanding the Mechanisms of Student Success. Higher Education Research & Development. Vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 58-71, doi: 10.1080/07294360.2017.1344197

8. Irkhina, I.V., Nikulin, I.N., Isaev, I.F., Kroleveckaya, E.N. (2021). The Educational Environment of a University as a Factor Stimulating Students’ Engagement in Physical Culture. Teoriya i praktika fizicheskoy kultury = Theory and Practice of Physical Education. No. 3, pp. 31-32. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=44908664 (accessed 17.04.2025). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

9. Koreshnikova, Yu.N., Frumin, I.D. (2020). Teachers’ Professional Competencies as a Factor of Students’ Critical Thinking Development. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education. Vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 88-103, doi: 10.17759/pse.2020250608 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

10. Kroleveckaya, E.N., Isaev, I.F. (2022). The Sociocultural Educational Environment of a University as a Factor in the Development of Future Teachers’ Multi-subjectivity. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. No. 6, pp. 114-135, doi: 10.31992/0869-3617-2022-316-114-135 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

11. Polyakova, T.Yu. (2023). A University Teacher of Engineering: What Do Students Value? Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. Vol. 32, no. 11, pp. 60-76, doi: 10.31992/0869-3617-2023-32-11-60-76 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

12. Espinoza, Ó., Miranda, C., Sandoval, L., Corradi, B., González, L., McGinn, N. (2024). Determinants of Study Motivation of Undergraduate University Students in Chile. Studies in Higher Education. Pp. 1-15, doi: 10.1080/03075079.2024.2363512

13. Mattanah, J., Holt, L., Feinn, R., Bowley, O., Marszalek, K. et al. (2024). Faculty-Student Rapport, Student Engagement, and Approaches to Collegiate Learning: Exploring a Mediational Model. Current Psychology. Vol. 43, pp. 23505-23516, doi: 10.1007/s12144-024-06096-0

14. Bao, D.Q., Phong, N.D., Tho, N.D. (2023). Co-Creation in Higher Education and Quality of College Life: The Roles of Students’ Co-Creation Effort, Interactions, and Mindfulness. The International Journal of Management Education. Vol. 21, no. 3, article no. 100862, doi: 10.1016/j.ijme.2023.100862

15. Khojanashvili, L., Tsereteli, M., Labadze, L. (2024). Understanding the Impact of Social and Academic Factors on Sense of Belonging in Higher Education: A Study from the Georgian Educational Landscape. Journal of Eurasian Studies. Vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 139-154, doi: 10.1177/18793665241261728

16. Komarraju, M., Musulkin, S., Bhattacharya, G. (2010). Role of Student-Faculty Interactions in Developing College Students’ Academic Self-Concept, Motivation, and Achievement. Journal of College Student Development. Vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 332-342, doi: 10.1353/csd.0.0137

17. Bureau, J.S., Howard, J.L., Chong, J.X.Y., Guay, F. (2021). Pathways to Student Motivation: A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents of Autonomous and Controlled Motivations. Review of Educational Research. Vol. 92, no. 1, pp. 46-72, doi: 10.3102/00346543211042426

18. Raboca, H.M., Carbunarean, F. (2024). Faculty Support and Students’ Academic Motivation. Frontiers in Education. Vol. 9, article no. 1406611, doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1406611

19. Zepke, N. (2015). Student Engagement Research: Thinking Beyond the Mainstream. Higher Education Research and Development. Vol. 34, no. 6, pp. 1311-1323, doi: 10.1080/07294360.2015.1024635

20. Olkhovaya, T.A., Khabarova, T.S. (2015). Model of the Formation of Medical Students’ Subjectivity. Fundamental’nye issledovaniya = Fundamental Research. No. 2-22, pp. 5003-5007. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_23613379_60902078.pdf (accessed 17.04.2025). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

21. Panov, V.I. (2007). Psikhodidaktika obrazovatel’nykh sistem: teoriya i praktika [Psychodidactics of Educational Systems: Theory and Practice]. St. Petersburg: Piter, 352 p. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=19991648 (accessed 17.04.2025). (In Russ.).

22. Tarasov, S.V. (2003). Obrazovatel’naya sreda i razvitie shkol’nika [Educational Environment and Development of Student]. St. Petersburg: LOIRO Press, 139 p. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_22736608_31061837.pdf (accessed 17.04.2025). (In Russ.).

23. Tarasov, S.V., Spasskaya, E.B., Proekt, Yu.L. (2024). Vzaimodeystvie pedagogicheskikh vuzov i regional’nykh obrazovatel’nykh sistem: podkhody, praktiki, resheniya [Interaction Between Pedagogical Universities and Regional Educational Systems: Approaches, Practices, Solutions]. St. Petersburg: Herzen University Press, 247 p. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=67906036 (accessed 17.04.2025). (In Russ.).

24. Mitnitskaya, E.V. (2021). Obrazovatel’naya sreda kak sotsiokul’turnyy fenomen [The Educational Environment as a Sociocultural Phenomenon]. In: Sovremennoe sotsial’no-gumanitarnoe obrazovanie: vektory razvitiya v god nauki i tekhnologiy = Contemporary Social and Humanitarian Education: Vectors of Development in the Year of Science and Technology. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference. Moscow: Moscow State Pedagogical University, pp. 535- 542, doi: 10.37492/ETNO.2021.12.45.071 (In Russ.).

25. Yasvin, V.A. (2020). Development of the Theory of the Personality-Development Environment in Russian Educational Psychology. Psikhologiya. Zhurnal Vysshey shkoly ekonomiki = Psychology. Journal of the Higher School of Economics. Vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 295-314, doi: 10.17323/1813-8918-2020-2-295-314 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

26. Slobodchikov, V.I. (2010). Event-Based Educational Community as a Source of Development and Subject of Education. Novye tsennosti obrazovaniya = New Values of Education. Vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 4-13. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=14308754 (accessed 17.04.2025). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

27. Agranat, Yu.V., Ivanova, L.V. (2019). Evaluation of Teachers by Students in the Context of Improving the Quality of Education. Pedagogika. Voprosy teorii i praktiki = Pedagogy. Questions of Theory and Practice. Vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 68-72, doi: 10.30853/pedagogy.2019.3.13 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.)

28. Islakaeva, G.R. (2023). The Educational Environment of the University as a Factor of Improving the Quality of Higher Education. Ekonomika i upravlenie: nauchno-prakticheskiy zhurnal = Economics and Management: Scientific and Practical Journal. No. 6, pp. 89-96, doi: 10.34773/EU.2023.6.16 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

29. Kozilova, L.V., Chvyakin, V.A. (2022). Influence of the Educational Environment of a Pedagogical University on the Professional Development of a Teacher. Perspektivy nauki i obrazovaniya = Perspectives of Science and Education. No. 4 (58), pp. 96-114, doi: 10.32744/pse.2022.4.6 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

30. Kuryan, M.L., Voronina, E.A. (2020). Communication Between Students and Teachers Outside the Classroom: A Theoretical Review of Foreign Research. Pedagogika i psikhologiya obrazovaniya = Pedagogy and Psychology of Education. No. 1, pp. 219-237, doi: 10.31862/2500- 297X-2020-1-219-237 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

31. Gordeeva, T.O., Sychev, O.A., Osin, E.N. (2013). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Academic Motivation of Students: Their Sources and Impact on Psychological Well-Being. Voprosy psikhologii = Issues in Psychology. No. 1, pp. 35-45. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=21195528 (accessed 17.04.2025). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

32. Tawfeek, E.E., Gouda, E., Elaraby, S., Talaat, W. (2021). Relationship Between the Role of the Clinical Instructor, Students’ Self-Efficacy, and Academic Achievement. Suez Canal University Medical Journal. Vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 164-177, doi: 10.21608/scumj.2021.197634

33. Panferov, V.N., Nikiforov, O.V., Shingayev, S.M. (2023). Cognitive Patterns of Perception of “Effective” and “Ineffective” University Teachers by Students with Different Learning Motivation. Psikhologiya cheloveka v obrazovanii = Human Psychology in Education. Vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 435-451, doi: 10.33910/2686-9527-2023-5-3-435-451 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

34. Koltsova, A.A., Yakovleva, T.V. (2023). Competency Profile of University Teachers of Economics: Students’ Opinions. Biznes. Obrazovanie. Pravo = Business. Education. Law. No. 4 (65), pp. 250-255, doi: 10.25683/VOLBI.2023.65.777 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

35. Ilyin, E.P. (2002). Motivatsiya i motivy [Motivation and Motives]. St. Petersburg: Piter, 512 p. ISBN: 5-272-00028-5. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=21293772 (accessed 17.04.2025). (In Russ.).

36. Burovikhina, I.A., Leontiev, D.A., Osin, E.N. (2007). Character Strengths as Adolescent Personality Resources: Application of the “Personal Strengths Profile” Questionnaire. Psikhologicheskaya diagnostika = Psychological Diagnostics. No. 1, pp. 107-127. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/3145454 (accessed: 17.04.2025). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

37. Donskikh, O.A., Logunova, L.Yu., Utkina, A.N. (2023). The Professional Dignity of a University Professor. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Filosofiya. Sotsiologiya. Politologiya = Tomsk State University Journal of Philosophy, Sociology and Political Science. No. 71, pp. 192-203, doi: 10.17223/1998863 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

38. Mahasneh, A.M., Al-Zoubi, Z.H., Alkhawaldeh, A.M. (2023). The Impact of Teacher’s Emotional Intelligence on Students’ Academic Engagement. International Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 49-67, doi: 10.17583/ijep.10444

39. Gallyamova, A.R., Karacheva, E.A. (2024). Professional and Personal Qualities of a Modern Foreign Language Teacher as a Key Factor in Humanistic Education. Voprosy metodiki prepodavaniya v vuze = Problems of Teaching Methods in Higher Education. Vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 117-129, doi: 10.57769/2227-8591.12.1.08 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

40. Gaziyeva, I.A., Burashnikova, A.A. (2023). Competence-Based Functional Profile of a University Teacher: A Value-Oriented Approach. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. Vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 26-47, doi: 10.31992/0869-3617-2023-32-3-26-47 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

41. Dervenis, C., Fitsilis, P., Iatrellis, O. (2022). A Review of Research on Teacher Competencies in Higher Education. Quality Assurance in Education. Vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 199-220, doi: 10.1108/QAE-08-2021-0126

42. Dewaele, J.-M., Li, C. (2021). Teacher Enthusiasm and Students’ Social-Behavioral Learning Engagement: The Mediating Role of Student Enjoyment and Boredom in Chinese EFL Classes. Language Teaching Research. Vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 922-945, doi: 10.1177/13621688211014538

43. Tinto, V. (1997). Classrooms as Communities: Exploring the Educational Character of Student Persistence. Journal of Higher Education. Vol. 68, no. 6, pp. 599-623, doi: 10.2307/2959965

44. Agrawal, P., Singh, P., Mishra, L., Bhatt, T., Panda, A.K., Singh, O.P. (2024). Unpacking the Intricacies of Techno-Pedagogical Competency, Social Competency and Interpersonal Relationships in HEI’s Professors: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis. In: 2024 3rd Edition of IEEE Delhi Section Flagship Conference (DELCON), New Delhi, India, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/DELCON64804.2024.10867042

45. Khlybova, M.A. (2023). The Role of the Teacher in the Digital Educational Environment. Pedagogicheskiy vestnik = Pedagogical Bulletin. No. 26, pp. 94-97. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_53116104_88807351.pdf (accessed 17.04.2025). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

46. Chernitsyna, M.M., Kolmykova, V.A. (2024). Teacher’s Communicative Style in the Context of Integrative Teaching Technologies and Its Impact on Students’ Meaning-Making. Modern Humanities Success. No. 5, pp. 227-233, doi: 10.58224/2618-7175-2024-5-227-233 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

47. Burke-Smalley, L., Neely, A.R., Bryant, E. (2024). Building Professor-Student Rapport: A Model, Survey Findings, and Implications for Practicing Professors. Business Horizons. Vol. 67, no. 2, pp. 137-145, doi: 10.1016/j.bushor.2023.11.003

48. Saidi, L.G., Vu, P. (2021). Students’ Perspective on Higher Educators: Interpersonal Relationship Matters. SN Social Sciences. Vol. 1, article no. 175, doi: 10.1007/s43545-021-00176-9