Students’ Ratings of Professors: The Teaching Style Contingency for Latino/a Professors

This article examines the influence of gender, ethnicity (Latino/a or Anglo), and teaching style (lenient or strict) on students’ perceptions of professors teaching a social science course. Undergraduates read and responded to a syllabus and rated the course and the instructor on dimensions such as warmth, knowledge, and political bias. Contrary to previous research, there were no significant effects associated with professor gender. However, there were several ethnicity by teaching style interactions. Latino/a professors received either the least or most favorable marks depending on whether they presented the course with a strict or lenient teaching style, respectively. Results are discussed in terms of aversive racism and the contingent nature of evaluation for Latino/a professors.