Gender differences in students’ ratings of university teachers in the Iranian education system

Abstract

University students' ratings of teaching and teachers' performance are used in many parts of the world for the evaluation of faculty members at colleges and universities. Even though these ratings receive mixed reviews, there is little conclusive evidence on the role of the intervening variable of teacher and student gender in these ratings. Possible influences resulting from gender-related differences in different sociocultural contexts, especially where gender combination in student and faculty population is not proportionate, have not been adequately investigated in previous research. This study aimed to examine Iranian university students' ratings of the professional performance of male and female university teachers and to explore the differences in male and female university students' evaluation of teachers of the same or opposite gender. The study was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey with a total of 800 randomly selected students in their different years of undergraduate study (307 male and 493 female students, reflecting the proportion of male and female students in the university) from different faculties at the University of Kashan, Iran. The participants rated male and female teachers' performance in observing university regulations, relationship with colleagues, and relationships with students. The researchers used descriptive statistics, means comparison inferential statistics and focus-group interview data to analyze and compare the students' ratings. The results of one-sample t-test, independent samples t-test, and Chi-square analyses showed that a) overall, male university teachers received significantly higher overall ratings in all areas than female teachers; b) male students rated male teachers significantly higher than female students did; and c) female students assigned a higher overall mean rating to male teachers than to female teachers but this mean difference was not significant. These results are studied in relation to the findings in the related literature and indicate that gender can be an important intervening variable in university students' evaluation of faculty members.

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Gender equity in evaluating higher education faculty competency in Dubai: views from first-year undergraduate students

“…In Iran, researchers designed a questionnaire to assess potential gender biases in faculty ratings by male and female students (Zare-ee et al, 2016). The study, based on 800 randomly sampled student evaluations, indicated that male students rated female faculty lower than male faculty (p 5 0.001) (Zare-ee et al, 2016). The researchers noted that the effects of this variable may vary based on contextual factors and student expectations.…”

“…Notably, a university study in France found that male students were more likely to give higher satisfaction scores to male teachers than female teachers. Similarly, in Iran, male students tended to rate female faculty lower than their male counterparts (Zare-ee et al ., 2016). Also, The Rate my professor (2014) Website contains potential gender bias in student ratings, emphasizing the need for a more in-depth exploration of student descriptions of faculty competency.…”

“…In Iran, researchers designed a questionnaire to assess potential gender biases in faculty ratings by male and female students (Zare-ee et al. , 2016).…”

“…, 2016). The study, based on 800 randomly sampled student evaluations, indicated that male students rated female faculty lower than male faculty ( p = 0.001) (Zare-ee et al. , 2016).…”