Distance Breeds Alienation: Perceived Ideological Distance Lowers Students’ Evaluations of Their Professors

Abstract

Teaching social sciences frequently involves politically and ideologically fraught issues. This study examines the effect of students’ perceived ideological distance from their professors on their academic experience, drawing on a survey of 1,257 students from Social Science and Law faculties in Israel across five different universities. Congruent with previous findings from the US, the study’s results demonstrate that perceived ideological distance lowers students’ evaluations of their professors’ commitment to their success. Implications of the findings are discussed with reference to the current underrepresentation of right-wing and conservative academics in the social sciences.