Yafteh

Background: Effective educational interaction between faculty and students is crucial for academic success in higher education, particularly in medical education. This study aimed to analyze students’ perspectives on educational interaction with faculty members and identify factors affecting these interactions at Lorestan University of Medical Sciences.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2025 on 307 students from various faculties of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected through an online questionnaire that included two sections: demographic information and 19 items related to student–faculty educational interaction. The data were analyzed using Stata (version 17) and appropriate statistical tests. A significance level of 0.05 was considered.
Results:  The overall mean score of student–faculty educational interaction was 3.69 ± 0.39, indicating a desirable level of interaction from the students’ perspective. The most influential factors were “faculty ethics” and “fair treatment of students,” while the least influential factors were “faculty gender” and “faculty adherence to religious principles and beliefs”. Significant differences were observed between interaction scores and demographic variables (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The findings indicated that behavioral and ethical components, from students’ perspectives, have a greater impact on their perception of educational interaction than structural or communication-related factors. Because of the study's cross-sectional design, it is not possible to draw causal conclusions; nonetheless, the findings still highlight areas that are important to students. Accordingly, focusing on improving communication skills and enhancing opportunities for interaction can be applied in educational planning.
Keywords: Academic Communication, Communication Skills, Educational Interaction, Medical Education, Teacher–Student Relationship.