A Qualitative Analysis of a Critical Angry Incident with Students

There is currently a gap in the literature concerning critical angry incidents in the workplace between subordinates and their superiors. In particular, there is a gap regarding the relationship between university professors and their students. The purpose of this research is to bring attention to professor/student angry incidents on campus through a qualitative analysis of a critical incident. A survey that included six open-ended questions about a critical incident was sent to 367 full-time university faculty members.  Of those faculty members, 124 reported a critical angry incident in the last year. Only responses to critical incidents are reported in this poster. A team of undergraduates coded the written responses with close supervision from the leading authors. The findings showed that the perpetrator (i.e., student) was most likely to be a white undergraduate female acting alone. The most frequently cited angry behaviors were verbal and nonverbal disrespect. Risk factors for the faculty included being female, nonwhite, and young. Implications include empowering undergraduates as researchers assistants (e.g., coders) and developing a climate of respect between students and instructors on campus.