College Students' Perceptions of Unfairness in the Classroom

Abstract

The importance of creating an atmosphere of fairness in the college classroom is discussed. Using psychological equity theory concepts of interactional and procedural fairness as the basis of study, a survey was conducted with 300 university students who were asked to rate the seriousness of 18 faculty misbehaviors. Misbehaviors related to interactional fairness (showing partiality to some students, using profanity and being angry or mean, embarrassing students in class) and misbehaviors related to procedural fairness (unfair in grading; changing policies during the semester; using unfair tests, trick questions) were considered by students to be much more serious than giving excessive work or giving dull, boring lectures. This paper gives a model for consideration of the relative importance of fairness in the college classroom and offers recommendations for faculty.