Passionate pedagogy and emotional labor: students’ responses to learning diversity from diverse instructors

Abstract

This qualitative study examines emotion themes reflected in student evaluations from required diversity courses at a predominantly white, US public university. We analyze two years of student evaluations for 29 instructors. Situated by the work of Acker, Jaggar, and Hochschild, we find contradictory themes of perceived instructional bias and the value of diversity lessons. Student evaluations result in systematic disadvantage for minority instructors that may be heightened for female instructors of color. Non-minority instructors (both male and female) gain privileges by avoiding dealing with diversity directly which is reflected in student evaluations through the process of “ducking diversity”. The organizational structure of required diversity courses marginalizes the scholarship and emotion work of minority instructors and inherently reproduces the very inequalities they are designed to combat.

Keywords:

• emotional labor
• diversity
• teaching and learning
• higher education

Acknowledgements

We extend our sincere appreciation for comments on a draft of this paper to Dr. Lory Dance and the editorial board of IJQSE. In addition, we are indebted to the early scholarship of Drs. Katherine Acosta and Gary Perry in contributing to our understanding of emotion work for academic instructors of color.