Impact of Faculty Gender on Course Environment

Impact of Faculty Gender on Course Environment

Statistical analysis: How faculty gender affects course environment scores in student evaluations of teaching

Statistical analysis: How faculty gender affects course environment scores in student evaluations of teaching

statistical analysis
quantitative research
SPSS
In the style of a topographical map, a collection of colorful three-dimensional bar graphs


Project Overview


Project Overview

This statistical analysis examined perceived differences in course environment based on faculty gender. The analysis was performed on a secondary data set from Georgetown’s student evaluations of teaching (SETs), which are given on a semesterly basis. The guiding research question was: “Do student perceptions of classroom environment differ by faculty gender?” The analysis results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in composite environment scores between female and male faculty members, a finding that aligns with existing research.

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Process

Process

I used SPSS to conduct an independent samples t-test on a composite environment variable  (made up of four survey questions related to course environment) by binary faculty gender (reported at time of hire).

The results of the independent samples t-test indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in composite environment scores between female (M = 18.55, SD = 2.56) and male faculty members (M = 18.13, SD = 2.95), t(1343) = 2.92, p = .004, with female instructors reporting higher classroom environment scores on average. Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances was statistically significant F(1, 1497) = 13.93, p < .001, indicating that homogeneity of variance had been violated and that there was a difference in variance between the female and male groups. As a result, equal variances were not assumed. The mean difference (MD = .42) between the two groups (female and male) suggests that students perceive a moderate but statistically significantly higher classroom environment quality among female instructors compared to that of male instructors. 

These results were consistent with existing research that found that female instructors tend to score higher on SET questions related to “warmth,” sensitivity, participation, and classroom atmosphere (Basow 1995; Bennett 1982; Crawford & MacLeod 1990; Harris 1975; Howard & Henney 1998; Kierstead, D'Agostino & Dill, 1988; Tatum, Schwartz, Schimmoeller & Perry 2013), a phenomenon that has been attributed to women’s socialization process being centered around the feelings and perceptions of others (Lundgren & Rudawsky 1998).