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Political views of American academics

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Liberal bias in academia refers to the perception that academia has had a [liberal bias]], and that college and university professors are disproportionately liberal compared to the general population. The extent and causes of this perceived bias have been the subject of intensive debate in both academic literature and the popular press.

Research

Prior to the late 1960's, speculation of the existence of liberal bias in higher education was based entirely on anecdotal reports and observations. Starting in 1969, a series of surveys and questionnaires were conducted throughout Canada and the US, which supported the previously untested speculations of the prevalence of progressive-styles of teaching amongst the majority of professors..[1] A Carnegie survey in 1984 found that professors with liberal political views represented a slightly larger percentage of faculty than their conservative counterparts, constituting 39% of faculty as compared to 34% for conservatives. A 1999 survey conducted by Stanley Rothman, S Robert Lichter, and Neil Nevitte found that professors with liberal socio-political views outnumbered their conservative counterparts by a ratio of 5 to 1 in the United States, with the former constituting 72% of the faculty body and the later representing 15%.[2] The study was criticized by political scientists Barry Ames, David C. Barker, Chris W. Bonneau, and Christopher J. Carman, who argued that it was "plagued by theoretical and methodological problems that render their conclusions unsustainable by the available evidence."[3] Rothman, Licther and Nevitte's study was later revealed to have contained a coding error, which exaggerated the percentage of professors holding liberal views by 12%.[4]: 55 


An opinion poll concluded that conservatives within the general public outnumbered liberals by a ratio of 2 to 1 in 1999, with the former constituting 37% of respondents and the latter a mere 17%.[2][1] Surveys conducted by the Xavier University in Ohio have provided a different explanation of the prevalence of liberal academics in colleges. The survey outlined the so-called 'Self-Selection Hypothesis', which proposed that conservatives were less likely to pursue careers in academia due to a combination of personal preference and belief that they would face more challenges in achieving academic success due in a progressive-dominated field. The study found that conservatives aspired to get into higher-paying jobs, whilst liberals were more likely to be affiliated with community service occupations and were less influenced by monetary gratification.[5]

Implications

The prevalence of progressive professors in institutions of higher education, some argue, has created an environment that prioritizes political correctness above truthfulness. A report by the California Association of Scholars, put together in 2012 for the UCLA, argues that the lack of balance between liberal and conservative viewpoints has contributed to a culture that espouses socio-cultural and political apologists, whilst marginalizing those with center-right viewpoints.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Inbar, Yoel; Lammers, Joris (September 5, 2012), "Political Diversity in Social and Personality Psychology" (PDF), Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7 (5), SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/1745691612448792, retrieved January 20, 2017{{citation}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Forum was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1012734
  4. ^ Gross, Neil. Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care? Harvard University Press, 2013.
  5. ^ Phillips, James Cleith. "Appendix To: 'Why Are There so Few Conservatives and Libertarians in Legal Academia? An Empirical Exploration of Three Hypotheses'" SSRN Electronic Journal SSRN Journal: 84-96. Web. 1 May 2016. <http://www.xavier.edu/xjop/documents/Hudson.pdf>.
  6. ^ Ellis, John M., Charles L. Geshekter, Peter W. Wood, and Stephen H. Balch. The Corrupting Effect of Political Activism in the University of California. Rep. Los Angeles: California Association of Scholars, 2012. Print.{https://www.nas.org/images/documents/A_Crisis_of_Competence.pdf}
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