Women Are Teachers, Men Are Professors: A Study of Student Perceptions

Abstract

Sociology students' perceptions of their instructors' educational attainment levels are examined empirically. We find gender disparities : students misattribute in an upward direction the level of education actually attained by male graduate student instructors, while they misattribute in a downward direction the level of formal education attained by women, even when the female faculty member is a full professor. The misattributions are linked to the imputed statuses teacher for women, and professor for men, regardless of the actual positions held or the credentials earned by faculty members and graduate student instructors. We suggest that a process of marginalization explains the empirical findings-a process that is attributed by others, but chosen by the self, regardless of the social and economic costs incurred. Consequences for students and sociology professors are discussed