Leaving aside all the debate on adjunct staff vs tenured academics and the marketisation of higher education, what really lept out for me was the student evaluations of the (possibly autistic) less feminine physics contingent teaching faculty (CTF) member (i.e. non-tenure track teaching staff). Indeed the university is so concerned that they put in place an improvement plan when a male CTF shows her how to do typical lectures (like him) rather than the student-centred active-learning syle with lots of science demonstrations that she had been doing. Her students actually had better grades than his.
One of the things mentioned as an issue was her presentation. That teaching is 'female' stereotyped. By not presenting herself in as feminine a way as the other female CTFs she was getting lower scores. The paper gives a Judith Butler reference to back this up, who I'm vaguely aware of as a gender academic, I'm not saying the conjecture is right or wrong, I just wish there were some references to research into student evalutions of staff based on appearance and maleness and femaleness. I know there has been much research on students evaluating female teaching staff more harshly especially if they do not present as warm. And there has been research finding that you learn better from staff you like, so you should not dismiss how you come across when teaching as, sadly, it is important.
I'm just struck by the thought I might need to be worrying about my lack of feminity. I'm autistic, I hate the way makeup feels on my skin so don't wear it. I try to pick a nice presentable blouse/shirt/top to wear onscreen. Maybe I should invest in some chunky necklaces to serve as stimming objects and signifiers of my feminity. And then I think, why am I even having to worry about my feminity. What does it even matter? But apparently it does. Urgh!
Gender norms and teaching science
Here's one for sharing at the next Journal Club. Or perhaps not. We may start a feminist uprising...
“Flying under the radar”: Postfeminism and teaching in academic science - Doerr - 2024 - Gender, Work & Organization - Wiley Online Library (open.ac.uk)
Leaving aside all the debate on adjunct staff vs tenured academics and the marketisation of higher education, what really lept out for me was the student evaluations of the (possibly autistic) less feminine physics contingent teaching faculty (CTF) member (i.e. non-tenure track teaching staff). Indeed the university is so concerned that they put in place an improvement plan when a male CTF shows her how to do typical lectures (like him) rather than the student-centred active-learning syle with lots of science demonstrations that she had been doing. Her students actually had better grades than his.
One of the things mentioned as an issue was her presentation. That teaching is 'female' stereotyped. By not presenting herself in as feminine a way as the other female CTFs she was getting lower scores. The paper gives a Judith Butler reference to back this up, who I'm vaguely aware of as a gender academic, I'm not saying the conjecture is right or wrong, I just wish there were some references to research into student evalutions of staff based on appearance and maleness and femaleness. I know there has been much research on students evaluating female teaching staff more harshly especially if they do not present as warm. And there has been research finding that you learn better from staff you like, so you should not dismiss how you come across when teaching as, sadly, it is important.
I'm just struck by the thought I might need to be worrying about my lack of feminity. I'm autistic, I hate the way makeup feels on my skin so don't wear it. I try to pick a nice presentable blouse/shirt/top to wear onscreen. Maybe I should invest in some chunky necklaces to serve as stimming objects and signifiers of my feminity. And then I think, why am I even having to worry about my feminity. What does it even matter? But apparently it does. Urgh!