Professor Sousa tips me off to a recent article in the journal PS, a publication of the American Political Science Assocation. The study investigates student perceptions of political science professors' ideology and how, in turn, this affects the professors' evaluation scores. Their findings in part indicate that students rate professors they agree with ideologically more highly than those they disagree with. "Perhaps most troubling," they conclude, "political differences between students and professors appear to reduce students' interest in the subject matter." Striking a balance in the classroom, challenging students' existing ideological biases while not alienating them in the process, is no easy task.
That's why I never mention my monarchist tendencies in class.
Read the whole piece (the conclusion is probably of most interest) here.
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