Sex and gender in the college classroom: A quantitative analysis of faculty-student interactions and perceptions

Students and instructors from 24 classrooms across 8 departments at a major university were observed in this study to (a) assess for sex differences in faculty-student interactions and in students' perceptions of their college classroom environment, (b) compare student perceptions of their college classroom interaction patterns with observed faculty-student interactions, and (c) assess a variety of demographic characteristics together to determine their singular and/or interactive effects on faculty-student interaction patterns and student perceptions. Male and female students did not differ in their classroom participation or perceptions, and instructors did not interact differently with the male and female students. Student perceptions strongly correlated with their own behaviors and with instructor behaviors. Classroom interactions and student perceptions varied on the basis of different demographic characteristics including instructor sex, class size, instructor monitoring of gender-race equity in the classroom, gender relevance of the course, and the sex ratio of the class.