Student perceptions of effectiveness: an examination of the influence of student biases

College Student Journal, June, 2008 by Julie E. Sprinkle

Previous research on instruction in higher education suggests that students' personal biases strongly influence their perceptions of professor/instructor effectiveness. However, there is disagreement about the degree and direction of this influence. The present article seeks to contribute to this often conflicting body of work. The researcher developed and distributed a student rating scale (N = 202) to determine how biases toward professor/instructor traits, such as age, gender, teaching style, faculty ranking, personality, and grades awarded, mediate judgments of effectiveness. The results, which statistically indicate several pronounced student-held biases, are interpreted using a multi-theoretical framework. Recommendations to combat biased evaluations are presented.

Introduction

Research suggests that student perceptions of college professor and adjunct instructor effectiveness are influenced by a variety of fixed and dynamic professor/instructor-held traits. Fixed traits such as personality, age, and gender (Arbuckle & Williams, 2003; Amin, 1994; Freeman, 1994), mainly beyond the control of professors and instructors, can sway student perceptions of effectiveness and subsequent evaluation ratings. Similarly, dynamic or changeable traits, such as teaching style (Zhang, 2004), also play a large role in the instruction 'grade' awarded to university professors and adjunct faculty. These assertions lead to the conclusion that it is often students' personal biases, rather than instructor performance, that have the greatest impact on perceptions of effectiveness. Student-held biases are shaped by characteristics such as student age, gender, grade point average (GPA), major, learning style, and academic classification and may be the direct result of ageist, sexist, or other discriminatory attitudes promoted by the environment from which students hail and/or currently reside. While there is agreement in the literature that both professor and student traits mediate student judgment of effectiveness, there is disagreement about the direction of the influence.

Literature Review

A review of the literature indicates college students frequently rate male professors as more effective than female professors and younger professors as more effective than older ones (Arbuckle & Williams, 2003; Kaschak, 1978; Lombardo & Tocci, 1979). Yet, Basow (2000) posits that female students tend to rate female faculty higher than male faculty, while for male students the converse is true. These particular findings suggest same gender identification and a resultant gender bias on behalf of student raters. However, this assertion is contradictory to Freeman's study (1994) in which no difference between male and female ratings of effectiveness were detected. With divergent findings prevalent in the literature, the purpose of the current study is to add to this often conflicting body of work and examine student biases as mediating factors in determinations of effectiveness.

Gender and age appear to be two of the most salient factors in student perceptions of teaching effectiveness. With over one third of all university faculty members older than 55 (Clark & Hammond, 2000), a positive or negative age bias in students can have serious repercussions for all academicians. Additionally, the historically male dominated academy has made significant strides in adding females to faculty lines over the past few decades. Yet, since evidence of gender wage inequality exists even in colleges and universities (Clegg, 2006), it would not be surprising if students of these institutions also exhibit biased and inequitable gender-based attitudes.

A facet of the equation not considered by many in the literature is the influence of nontraditional students on professor ratings of effectiveness. The definition of the term "nontraditional student" varies by author. With regard to undergraduates, students age 25 or older (Imel, 2001; Kasworm, Sandmann, & Sissel, 2000), who are financially independent, primary caregivers to at least one dependent, delay entry into college for a minimum of one year, attend college part-time (Evelyn, 2002), and/or have a GED rather than a high school diploma (Agbo, 2000) are classified as nontraditional students. The literature pertaining to graduate students is less specific. Therefore, this author conceptualizes nontraditional graduate students as students at the master's degree level who have one or more of the following characteristics: are above the age of 27, are caregivers to at least one family member, work full-time, and/or commute from a distance of at least forty miles one-way. Primarily, nontraditional graduate and undergraduate students bear familial and financial responsibilities that are uncharacteristic of their student colleagues.

Over one-half of all undergraduate students and nearly one-half of all graduate students are considered nontraditional (Kasworm, et. al, 2000; Evelyn, 2002). If students identify with same gender instructors, there is a likelihood that students, particularly nontraditional age, will also identify with age cohort similar instructors. The present study is focused mainly on undergraduate learners.