How Students Evaluate Male v. Female Professors

Poster Number

20A

Lead Author Major

Psychology, Pre-law

Lead Author Status

Sophomore

Second Author Major

Tylah King-Paul

Second Author Status

Sophomore

Format

Poster Presentation

Faculty Mentor Name

Zsolt Palatinus

Faculty Mentor Department

Psychology

Graduate Student Mentor Name

Amanda Brown

Graduate Student Mentor Department

Psychology

Abstract/Artist Statement

Given that prevalent use of student evaluations concerning teaching ability of instructors significantly impacts career outcomes for those in higher education, it is paramount that awareness of potential biases present in these evaluations is exposed. Currently, student evaluations are used as an effort to systematize reviews of professor performance and evaluate teaching methods. Studies frequently demonstrate implicit gender biases in evaluations as students tend to perceive, evaluate and treat female instructors significantly differently than their male counterparts. Past research indicates that the perceptions of women are typically feminine, or ‘interpersonal’ whereas perceptions of men are masculine, professional and objective (MacNell et al., 2015). MacNell et al. (2015) found students often hold their instructors to these gender role expectations and as a result, instructors that adhere to gendered expectations often receive favorable reviews. Similarly, instructors who fail to meet the gendered expectations receive less favorable reviews. Though some empirical work has been conducted to reveal student implicit biases; more are needed. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine the differences present in student evaluations of male versus female professor performance. Participants included typical aged college students who participated in an online questionnaire. As a prompt, participants were presented with a professor description accompanied by a photograph of the professor and were then were instructed to complete the attached questionnaire based on their initial perceptions of the professor. Data collection is ongoing and will be presented via poster.

Keywords: student, evaluation, bias, professor, performance

Location

DeRosa University Center, Ballroom

Start Date

29-4-2017 10:00 AM

End Date

29-4-2017 12:00 PM

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Apr 29th, 10:00 AM Apr 29th, 12:00 PM

How Students Evaluate Male v. Female Professors

DeRosa University Center, Ballroom

Given that prevalent use of student evaluations concerning teaching ability of instructors significantly impacts career outcomes for those in higher education, it is paramount that awareness of potential biases present in these evaluations is exposed. Currently, student evaluations are used as an effort to systematize reviews of professor performance and evaluate teaching methods. Studies frequently demonstrate implicit gender biases in evaluations as students tend to perceive, evaluate and treat female instructors significantly differently than their male counterparts. Past research indicates that the perceptions of women are typically feminine, or ‘interpersonal’ whereas perceptions of men are masculine, professional and objective (MacNell et al., 2015). MacNell et al. (2015) found students often hold their instructors to these gender role expectations and as a result, instructors that adhere to gendered expectations often receive favorable reviews. Similarly, instructors who fail to meet the gendered expectations receive less favorable reviews. Though some empirical work has been conducted to reveal student implicit biases; more are needed. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine the differences present in student evaluations of male versus female professor performance. Participants included typical aged college students who participated in an online questionnaire. As a prompt, participants were presented with a professor description accompanied by a photograph of the professor and were then were instructed to complete the attached questionnaire based on their initial perceptions of the professor. Data collection is ongoing and will be presented via poster.

Keywords: student, evaluation, bias, professor, performance