But That’s Not Fair! An Exploratory Study of Student Perceptions of Instructor Fairness

Whereas research points to desirable educational outcomes that are enhanced by fairness in the classroom, this study addresses a fundamental question: what do professors do that students perceive as fair or unfair? Using the critical incident technique, the authors elicit specific course-related behaviors by college professors that are perceived as fair and unfair by marketing students. The authors find that the drivers of perceptions of fairness and unfairness are not simple mirror images. Procedural and interactional dimensions appear to be present, in addition to student reactions to outcomes. Some reported behaviors did seem unfair, whereas students appear to misinterpret other behaviors that likely had no malicious intent. The article assesses the current state of research related to fairness and relates this knowledge to fairness in the classroom. After describing the study and its results, the authors discuss the implications for teachers and for future research on classroom fairness.