NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1161761
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0260-2938
EISSN: N/A
Do Gender and Physical Attractiveness Affect College Grades?
Krawczyk, Michal
Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, v43 n1 p151-161 2018
In this study, data on grades awarded for bachelor and master theses at a large Polish university were used to identify possible discrimination on gender or physical attractiveness. The focus is on the gap between the grades awarded by the advisor (who knows the student personally) and the referee (who typically does not, so that gender is less salient and attractiveness is not observable). This provides an excellent control for actual quality of the work, which is often problematic in previous literature. Observations on nearly 15,000 students are available, of which some 2600 also have their physical attractiveness rated and are included in the analysis. It can thus be checked if the advisor-referee grade gap depends on students' gender and attractiveness, also in interaction with their genders. Based on stereotypes discussed in the literature one can hypothesise that females are treated relatively favourably by advisors (and males by referees). Likewise, it can be expected that physically attractive individuals' advisors award them relatively high grades. Overall, we observe some evidence that females indeed get relatively high grades from advisors and no evidence of influence of physical attractiveness.
Taylor & Francis. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Poland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A