Date of Award
8-1997
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology
First Advisor
Dr. Edward L. Trembley
Second Advisor
Dr. Suzanne Hedstrom
Third Advisor
Dr. Susan Caringella-MacDonald
Abstract
The focus of this study was on the potential impact of sex and gender-role orientation on one form of evaluation within higher education. Specifically, this study investigated sex and gender-role orientation as they relate to graduate student end-of-course evaluations of professors in the Counselor Education and the Counseling Psychology fields.
Students enrolled in graduate courses in counselor education or counseling psychology at a large university in the Midwest completed the Instructional Development and Effectiveness Assessment (IDEA) end-of-course rating form, a modified version the Bern Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) short form, and a student questionnaire. Professors also participated by completing the IDEA Faculty Information Form and a modified version of the BSRI. The completion of these instruments allowed for the collection of data regarding the three independent variables in this study (sex of student, sex of professor, and gender-role orientation of professor as perceived by students) and the three dependent variables used for analysis (rating of self-reported progress on 10 separate learning objectives, rating of the instructor, and rating of the course). The data were analyzed for main effects and interaction effects using analyses of variance.
No evidence for interaction effects was found. The results yielded by these analyses failed to provide consistent evidence fora main effect of student sex. The results yielded by these analyses provided some evidence for a main effect of professor sex when including only this variable in the model. However, when professor gender-role orientation as perceived by students was also included in the model, the analyses failed to yield consistent evidence for a main effect of student sex. Finally, the results did yield consistent evidence for a main effect of professor gender-role orientation and suggested that this variable explained a significantly greater proportion of variability in the student ratings of professors than did student sex or professor sex.
These results may be useful to faculty members and administrators when considering issues or complaints of sex bias within student evaluations. They may also provide useful information about professorial qualities and styles appreciated by students within counselor education and counseling psychology.
Access Setting
Dissertation-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Hobson, Suzanne M., "The Impact of Sex and Gender-Role Orientation on Student Evaluations of Professor Competence in Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology" (1997). Dissertations. 1631.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/1631