Seniority and experience of college teachers as related to evaluations they receive from students |
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| Authors: | Kenneth A Feldman |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Sociology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA
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| Abstract: | A review of relevant research shows that many studies have found the academic rank, age, and extent of instructional experience of college teachers to be unrelated to their students' global evaluation of them. Yet many other studies have found these indicators of the teacher's seniority and instructional experience to be related to the overall evaluation of teachers, and with a consistent pattern. In this latter group of studies, the teacher's academic rank is positively associated with the overall evaluation of the teacher, whereas both the teacher's age and extent of instructional experience are inversely associated with overall evaluation. Although these associations are generally weak in strength, they are robust enough to hold under a variety of controls (including the size of course enrollment and the gender of the teacher). Also, at least for extent of instructional experience, the number and strength of the associations may be underestimated by considering the relationship in question as linear when in fact it may be curvilinear. Just as the teachers' age and extent of instructional experience in general have been either not related or inversely related to the global evaluation of teachers, so they have been for more specific evaluations of teachers. When academic rank has been found to be related to specific evaluations, the relationships tend to be positive for only certain specific rating dimensions while being inverse for others. This being so, it is puzzling that the associations that have been found between academic rank and global evaluations have generally been positive only. A possible explanation for this is offered and supportive evidence marshaled. Finally, several reasons why associations between any of the indicators of seniority or instructional experience and either specific or overall evaluations may be inverse, positive, or curvilinear in the first place are advanced. These hinge on such factors as the teacher's motivation and career circumstances, the pedagogical training and abilities of different cohorts of teachers, as well as the criteria and practices of colleges in their recruitment of teachers, the extent of an age (or generation) gap between students and teachers, and students' expectations and perceptions of teachers and pedagogical characteristics attributed to them. Those reasons having the greater support empirically as well as those that seem the most plausible are noted. |
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