Abstract

The scores from student evaluation forms are often used to construct assessments about the quality and effectiveness of course instruction. These assessments, in turn, can have serious professional impacts on instructors with respect to future course assignments, grants, promotion and hiring decisions. Previous research suggests that scores from student evaluations can be significantly predicted by factors other than teaching quality, in particular, the gender of teaching staff. However, most existing research is challenged by logistical constraints of separating gender from teaching quality in face-to-face courses. The goal of the current study was to examine gender-neutrality in students’ assessments of teaching assistants, by manipulating perceived teaching assistant gender for an online course. Using a mixed methods approach across nine semesters in which teaching assistants posed as both male and female, findings from 232 students suggest mixed evidence concerning gender bias in evaluations of teaching assistant performance. Highlights include no significant differences for the overall mean performance scores between the perceived male versus perceived female subgroups; individual item analysis suggests that students were more likely to rate the perceived male teaching assistant as having high expectations and the course as having a more challenging workload. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

摘要

学生评估表中的分数通常用于构建对课程教学质量和有效性的评估。反过来，这些评估会对教师在未来的课程分配、资助、晋升和招聘决定方面产生严重的专业影响。先前的研究表明，学生评估的分数可以通过教学质量以外的因素进行显着预测，特别是教师的性别。然而，大多数现有研究都受到将性别与面对面课程教学质量分开的逻辑限制的挑战。当前研究的目标是通过操纵在线课程的感知助教性别来检查学生对助教的评估中的性别中立性。在九个学期中使用混合方法方法，其中助教扮演男性和女性，来自 232 名学生的调查结果表明，关于助教表现评估中性别偏见的混合证据。亮点包括感知的男性和感知的女性亚组之间的总体平均表现得分没有显着差异；个别项目分析表明，学生更有可能认为男性助教具有很高的期望，并且课程的工作量更具挑战性。讨论了未来研究的局限性和方向。亮点包括感知的男性和感知的女性亚组之间的总体平均表现得分没有显着差异；个别项目分析表明，学生更有可能认为男性助教具有很高的期望，并且课程的工作量更具挑战性。讨论了未来研究的局限性和方向。亮点包括感知的男性和感知的女性亚组之间的总体平均表现得分没有显着差异；个别项目分析表明，学生更有可能认为男性助教具有很高的期望，并且课程的工作量更具挑战性。讨论了未来研究的局限性和方向。