# The generation mechanism of Chinese college students’ classroom silence: a qualitative study based on triadic interaction theory

## TL;DR

This study explores why Chinese university students remain silent in class, using a new theoretical framework to identify factors and stages involved.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a novel triadic interaction model to explain the formation and progression of classroom silence among Chinese students.

## Key findings

- Classroom silence is influenced by individual, environmental, and behavioral factors.
- Silence progresses through four stages: triggering, reinforcement, solidification, and cyclical.
- The model offers practical strategies for teachers to diagnose and intervene in classroom silence.

## Abstract

Classroom silence among Chinese university students has become a distinctive educational phenomenon, impacting individual student development, university classroom teaching, and the cultivation of innovative talent at the national level, among other aspects. Thus, its underlying mechanisms urgently require further exploration.

This study adopted qualitative research method, selected 10 subjects with the most information by purposive sampling, collected first-hand data by semi-structured interview, and used the ternary interaction theory as the theoretical analysis framework.The original data were coded by using the software NVivo11.This study adopts a novel perspective based on triadic reciprocal determinism to investigate the core factors and theoretical model underlying the formation of classroom silence among university students.

The research identifies three core dimensions contributing to classroom silence—individual, environmental, and behavioral factors. Individual factors include self-efficacy, silence motivation, and psychological state; environmental factors include teacherrelated influences, peer influences, and collectivist norms; and behavioral factors include the self-reinforcement of silence, environmental adaptation to silence, and behavioral choices regarding silence. Classroom silence progresses through four interconnected stages, namely, the triggering stage, reinforcement stage, solidification stage, and cyclical stage, each reflecting bidirectional interactions and dynamic cycles among individual– environmental–behavioral factors.

The theoretical model of classroom silence formation under triadic reciprocal determinism reveals the dynamic and interactive nature of classroom silence, providing a more nuanced understanding of its mechanisms in terms of dynamism, systematicity, and intervention potential. This model holds significant practical value. At the explanatory level, it provides a clear answer to the question “why classroom silence becomes increasingly prevalent,” revealing the “self-reinforcing” logic of silence. At the diagnostic level, it assists teachers in identifying the stage of classroom silence and formulating targeted strategies. At the intervention level, it clarifies the focus of interventions at different stages.