Examining the relationships among collaborative learning, autonomy support, and student incivility in undergraduate classrooms

In response to the general perception among college faculty that student incivility is an increasing problem, we investigated ways in which collaborative learning and autonomy support are related to incivility. After collecting survey data from college faculty and their students, we conducted a path analysis to test the mediating effects of peer interaction for students' perception of autonomy support and incivility in different collaborative learning contexts. Results showed that student perceptions of autonomy support positively predicted instructor intolerance of incivility in classes that used formal and informal group work, with social learning acting as a significant mediator for formal groups only. Classroom community negatively predicted intolerance of incivility for informal groups. Suggestions for future research are discussed.