Perspectives: What Excludes Students?

Conveying Disrespect, Unfairness, or Lack of Confidence in Students

Students can quickly be made to think they are unwelcome in a class when they feel put down for their efforts. It is not an issue of dealing with students who are genuinely unprepared or disinterested, but rather, communicating to students (accidentally or intentionally) that despite their efforts, they don't have much chance of succeeding in the course.

Most instructors like to see themselves as fair and equally committed to all their students, but evidence suggests that students do not always see them in this way. For many instructors, the operating assumption is, "All students can see that they have equal opportunity to succeed in my class. I treat everyone the same."

Treating all students the same assumes that students enter classrooms with similar expectations and will respond to instructor behaviors in similar ways. However, stuidies have shown that teachers’ perceptions, expectations, and behaviors differed across racial and ethnic groups, and that students’ responses to instructor behaviors varied similarly. Others have noted that students who have experienced bias in the educational system have come to view classroom settings as untrustworthy. Students’ experiences in any given class are greatly influenced by the messages students have received throughout their earlier education. Thus, even in the absence of explicit disrespect, bias, or expressed doubt in students’ abilities, not all students recognize a course as "neutral ground" for learning.

On this page you will find

• Instructor Perspectives
• Student Perspectives
• Strategies and Resources

Conveying Disrespect, Unfairness, or Lack of Confidence in Students

Instructor Perspectives

Here are faculty comments which show how they might perceive student suggestions that they have spoken in ways that seem condescending or intimidating:

• "I had no idea students thought I was intimidating until I got some student evaluations back. I don't know where that's coming from."

• "Lively discussions can be passionate. At times, when I speak forcefully, some of the students seem to be scared off. I don't mean that to happen -- I think they need to be a little thicker-skinned."

• "I assume prerequisites and a certain level of preparation for this class. I don't want to bore everyone or talk down to them by rehashing what they should already know. We need time to explore the more advanced and complex material, so I try to keep things moving."

Conveying Disrespect, Unfairness, or Lack of Confidence in Students

Student Perspectives

Here are student comments on different situations which show how they might draw the conclusion that faculty comments are condescending or intimidating:

• "The professor is always saying 'I'm sure you all know this by now' or 'This is so basic, I don't need to explain it do I?' Then if I really don't understand something, I'm afraid to ask."

• "Sometimes I've answered a question and it's wrong and she'll just turn and ask someone else without saying anything to me. It makes me feel really put down so I've stopped answering questions."

• "He can be really abrupt in discussions. If the answer you give isn't what he wants, sometimes he cuts you off with 'No!' Maybe he doesn't mean it the way it comes across, but it sure doesn't make me want to talk."

• "When I didn't understand the answer to my question, the instructor finally said 'Well, I guess some of us are just better at visualizing than others of us.' How is that supposed to help?"

Conveying Disrespect, Unfairness, or Lack of Confidence in Students

Strategies and Resources

Inclusive Teaching Strategy guidelines are designed to help you get started thinking about ways to respond to these issues, and they will also provide you with links to additional resources, tools, and examples:

• Communicate Respect, Fairness, and High Expectations

What Excludes Students - More Examples

• Disregarding Student Backgrounds, Preparation, or Life Events That Affect Learning
• Interacting With Only a Subset of the Students
• Teaching in Ways That Favor Particular Backgrounds or Approaches to Learning