Differences between male students' and female students' perception of professors

College Student Journal, June, 2008 by Joseph Tomkiewicz, Kenneth Bass

This study is an empirical examination of possible differences between female and male college seniors' perceptions between male and female college professors. Subjects were presented with three variations of a scale designed to measure students' perceptions of university professors in general, female professors, and male professors. These students, both male and female, perceived that both male and female professors resembled university professors in general to a greater degree than female professors resembled male university professors. When females were compared with males using positive and negative items from the measurement scale, fifty three positive items could be used to describe female professors and only forty eight could be used to describe male professors.

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No one would argue that there are differences between males and females. However, some segments of society have made the fact that women are different from men synonymous with the belief that women are, in some ways, inferior to men. One such area may be in higher education and the evaluation of professors by students. Several studies have looked at gender bias in student evaluations of professors. Such studies have had a variety of results. For example, Feldman (1993), Bachen, McLoughlin, and Garcia (1999) and Basow (1995) reported little or no, or inconsistent gender bias. Basow (1998) reported that students reacted differently to professor behavior based on their (student) gender. She also reported that professors behave differently in the classroom based on their gender.

In a more recent study, Basow (2000) found that gender factors were involved in students' perceptions of and reactions to professors. In this study, she used a questionnaire consisting of two open-end questions: 1- "Think of the best professor you've had in college"; and, 2- "Describe what made him or her the 'best' in your opinion." The same questions were then asked with the term "worst" substituted for "best." Female professors were chosen "best" more frequently by their female students and less frequently by their male students than expected. Gender differences in choice of "worst" professors were not present. Students criticized the same things regardless of the sex of the professor. The purpose of the present study was to extend the Schein's (1973, 1975) original "male managerial stereotype" concept to include university professors. Is there a "male professor stereotype" which has the same negative effect on the careers of aspiring female professors as does the male managerial stereotype on women's careers in management? In addressing this question we wished to see whether outcomes would be different from Basow's (2000) results, which used a retrospective technique.

METHOD

The sample consisted of 242 students enrolled in the capstone course (Business Policy) within the business school of an AACSB accredited university located in the eastern part of the United States. Descriptive Index forms were distributed randomly and participation in filling out the questionnaire was voluntary and anonymous. There were three variations of the questionnaire dispensed. Students did not know that three variations existed. Of the total of 121 questionnaires distributed, 234 usable forms were returned. The average age of the group was 23.4 years. The sample consisted of 134 male students (average age: 23.6) and 100 females (average age: 22.8).

MEASURING INSTRUMENT

The 92-item descriptive index originated by Schein (1973, 1975) was used in this study. This index has been used several times, (including Brenner, Tomkiewicz and Schein (1989); Heilman, Block, Martell, & Simon (1989); Dodge, Gilroy, & Fenzel (1995); Tomkiewicz and Brenner (1996); Tomkiewicz and Bello (1997); Tomkiewicz, Brenner and Bello (1998), and Tomkiewicz (1999) to define male, female, African American, white, and Hispanic race stereotypes and the characteristics of managers and successful middle managers. Three forms of this index were used. Whereas Schein originally had asked respondents to describe women in general, men in general, and middle managers, respondents in this study were asked to describe university professors in general, female university professors, and male university professors.

Instructions on the three forms of the descriptive index were as follows:

   On the following pages you will find
   a series of descriptive terms commonly
   used to characterize people
   in general. Some of these terms are
   positive in connotation, others are
   negative, and some are neither very
   positive nor very negative.

We would like you to use this list to tell us what you think (university professors in general, female university professors and male university professors) are like. In making your judgments, it might be helpful to imagine you are about to meet a person for the first time and the only thing you know in advance is that the person is (a university professor, a female university professor, or a male university professor). Please rate each word or phrase in terms of how characteristic it is of (a university professor, a female university professor, or a male university professor).