Open AccessProfessor Age and Gender Affect Student Perceptions and Grades
Author(s) -
Shauna W. Joye,
Janie H. Wilson
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the journal of scholarship of teaching and learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1527-9316
DOI - 10.14434/josotl.v15i4.13466
Subject(s) - psychology , kindness , schema (genetic algorithms) , affect (linguistics) , active listening , perception , competence (human resources) , social psychology , developmental psychology , higher education , philosophy , theology , communication , machine learning , neuroscience , computer science , political science , law
Student evaluations provide rich information about teaching performance, but a number of factors beyond teacher effectiveness influence student evaluations. In this study we examined the effects of professor gender and perceived age on ratings of effectiveness and rapport as well as academic performance. Participants (N = 308) saw a picture of either a young or old male or female professor while listening to an audio lecture. Students reported greater perceived rapport with the female relative to the male professors and for younger versus older professors. However, students reported the male professors as more competent than the female professors. An interaction revealed that among female professors only, younger women were rated higher on rapport than comparison conditions. Thus, age and gender bias likely impact student evaluations of teaching. Our study also revealed higher quiz grades in the older-female condition, perhaps best explained by the older woman activating a schema for “mom.” Taken together, our results indicate that professor competence and kindness may foster learning best in the context of high expectations.