The Behaviors that College Students Classify as Political Bias: Preliminary Findings and Implications

Abstract

The purpose of the current project is to determine how college students define po litical bias in the classroom. There have been a number of recently published books and reports about the existence of a liberal bias in academia (e.g., ACTA 2005, ACTA 2006, Berube 2006, Black 2004, Horowitz 2006, Horowitz 2008, and Shapiro 2004). Sociology is one of the disciplines that is most frequently cited as producers of bias in two of these studies (ACTA 2006, Horowitz 2006), as well as in two Web sites on which students can post accusations of bias (No Indoctrination, http:// noindoctrination. org/cgibin/viewlistings. cgi, and Students for Academic Freedom, http:// www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/ comp/default. asp).l Furthermore, sociolo gists may be accused of bias because stu dents often resist or object to the material presented in sociology classes, especially when faculty members discuss sex and gen der and/or race and ethnicity (see Andersen and Miller 1997, Chaisson 2004, Hartung 1990, Moore 1997, Neitz 1985, and Turkel 1986). For these reasons, sociologists should have a comprehensive understanding