Student Preferences about University Education Department Instructor Attire

Abstract

Significant research has been conducted into the preferences of college students for what their course instructors wear while teaching face-to-face university classes. This article focuses on a specific focus within that research: students within a teacher education department of a midsized midwestern state university. The study used a survey to examine student preferences into this topic. Data were gathered using an online survey of 92 teacher education department students in one midwestern state university. The survey asked students to respond to images of men and women in various levels of formal dress: very informal attire, casual attire, business casual attire, and more formal attire. Students were asked to respond on a Likert-type scale about the impact of instructor dress on their own learning, on their perception of the instructor’s competence, and on their attitudes toward the professor’s apparent approachability or friendliness. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. This study suggests that students prefer their instructors to wear business casual attire while teaching. This finding was true for both male and female professors, and the survey results further indicate that business casual dress is best for student learning, for student perception of the instructor’s competence, and for the perceived approachability of the professor by students. The results of this study provide direction for college-level instructors seeking to enhance their overall effectiveness.

1. Introduction

Almost all aspects of the student–teacher dynamic have been thoroughly studied. One area where significant research has occurred is in the relationship of the instructor’s attire to student perceptions about that instructor. This study, though, specifically focuses on students in a teacher education program within a midsized midwestern state university. It explores how students perceive the effectiveness, professionalism, and approachability of their college professors based on what those professors wear to class. While most college professors are generally considered to be experts in their respective fields, when teaching, their knowledge of subject matter is significantly augmented by their ability to communicate that knowledge well. When students perceive their instructors to be effective and capable, this transmission is improved, and some research exists to indicate that a teacher’s credibility is enhanced when students perceive his or her appearance to be appropriate. In addition to these more noble, pedagogical concerns, professors are also held increasingly accountable for student assessment of their courses, and a professor’s appearance may, rightly or not, play into that rating.

What, then, according to students, is appropriate attire for a university professor while teaching? What dress do students find most supportive of their learning? What styles of clothing give a student a greater sense of a college instructor’s approachability, friendliness, and affability? What clothing options communicate a sense of instructional competence to students most effectively? Finally, while not a principal focus of this study, elements of the survey permit for an initial consideration of how diversity impacts these student perceptions. For example, do African-American college students put higher or lower importance on their instructors’ attire than their classmates? Students surveyed for this study provide helpful answers to those questions and give university professors a sense of expectations for what to wear while instructing a class.

1.1. Prior Research

1.1.1. The Importance of the Issue

The issue of professor attire can have greater impact than might initially be considered. After an initial termination in 2016, Dr. Larycia Hawkins, a tenured political science professor at Wheaton College, later resigned her position after controversy surrounding her wearing of a hijab. The college later stated that she was released, not for wearing a Muslim head covering at a private evangelical Christian college but for writing previously that Moslems and Christians worship the same god. Also in 2016, a Russian professor chose to deliver an anatomy lecture while naked; he was later fired [1].

1.1.2. Instructor Attire and Student Perceptions

In addition to these seemingly extreme examples, past research into professor attire strongly indicates that instructor clothing does indeed make a difference to students in their perception of a professor. In a survey of 250 university students, Mosca and Buzza [2] found that very high percentages of students prefer that their instructors dress in a business casual style (72%), that many students are intimidated by excessively formal instructor dress (42%), and that almost all students want a more relaxed classroom environment (96%). Similar findings are frequently reported. One similar study determined that university business majors perceive their more formally dressed instructors as possessing greater trustworthiness, expertise, and likeability [3]. Carr, Davies, and Lavin [4] similarly studied the impact of university instructor clothing on student perceptions. They found that college students have a more positive educational experience overall when course instructors wear professional attire rather than business casual or casual clothing in the classroom.

Interestingly, these positive perceptions do not apply exclusively to the well-dressed instructor alone. When a faculty member’s attire is professional, students also have more positive impressions of the professor’s course, the academic program, and the entire university [5].

While this study focuses on university students in an education department, its findings are confirmed by studies with different populations of students and different course instructors. From a survey of 150 undergraduate students at a private, midsized university on the West Coast about their perceptions of the clothing of teaching assistants, the researchers [6] determined that a teaching assistant’s more professional clothing resulted in their assessment by students as having greater relational influence and having improved instructional credibility. In addition, students themselves respond more positively to and provide higher ratings to those classmates who deliver academic presentations wearing formal or business casual attire versus those wearing casual or party-style clothing [7]. As might be expected, school leaders, especially those at secondary level career centers, perceive that more formally dressed teachers are more professional. They also found teachers dressed in a business casual style to be more responsible [8].

This perception is apparently ingrained very early in life. McDonald and Ma [9] found that 4- and 6-year-olds perceived more formally dressed people as being more knowledgeable about new topics, and these children expressed a preference to seek the assistance of more formally dressed individuals.

More studies seem to support the hypothesis that instructor attire makes a difference to students; however, one study [10] did not find statistical significance in student perceptions of teacher approachability or likeability. Other research [11] argues that students perceive that a more casually dressed professor is more relatable, making the students themselves more comfortable in the learning environment, preferring this clothing style to business casual. Again, there seems to be a consensus, certainly not a unanimous one, that professor attire makes a difference to students; however, no such consensus exists about where this preference lands in a list of prioritized student needs or desires, and certainly, there is no such consensus about how race and ethnicity impacts these student preferences.

1.1.3. Instructor Attire and Student Academic Achievement

While student perceptions are valuable, of course, student performance is also very important. Does instructor attire actually make a difference in students’ measured learning? The research indicates that it does. One experimental study found that student attendance improved 8.5% and final examination performance improved 2.3% for students taught by an instructor in business attire versus those taught by an instructor in casual dress [12].

1.1.4. Instructor Attire, Diversity, and Multiculturalism

Diversity and multiculturalism also bring important considerations into this topic of instructor attire. As an example, a young African-American lawyer, Francesca Williams, believes that people of color must be much more conscious of their clothing choices than white males. In her experience, Williams must constantly analyze her attire to avoid incorrect sexist assumptions and to ensure that easily misinterpreted racial messages are not inadvertently sent [1]. Race, combined with instructor clothing choices, also seems to play a role in student evaluations of university courses. One study determined that students trusted a Black professor more when he was dressed more formally; the opposite was true for the white professor. Students preferred him to wear more casual attire [13].

This student preference for more professionally attired instructors is reflected by international students who assess professors who dress more formally as being more competent, possessing greater expertise, and communicating more effectively than their more casually attired peers [14]. This general finding was repeated in very recent research: in a survey of 102 university technology students in South Africa, Slabbert [15] found that students perceive all instructors, male and female, more positively when those instructors are professionally dressed. In addition, 405 students from eight universities in Bangladesh similarly expressed a strong preference for more formally dressed course instructors [16]. A fascinating study from China explored this topic in a uniquely specific way, asking 289 surveyed college students to share preferences for the amount of “bareness” a female professor could show. The findings of this study indicated that female university instructors’ collars should cover the entire chest, sleeves should cover the entire shoulder, and pants or skirts should cover the entire thigh. Male students had greater tolerance for female instructor bareness than their female counterparts [17]. Certainly, the differences among international student preferences identified by these researchers results, at least in part, from cultural expectations. Such cultural expectations may also be evident among minority groups within the United States.

1.1.5. Instructor Attire in Perspective

While the issue of professor attire clearly has some significant implications for teaching, its overall importance apparently is not as crucial as the treatment that professors give to students. Dunbar and Segrin [18] found that students’ impressions of the instructor were based more on his or her provision of appropriate attention. Clearly, instructor attire is just one of many characteristics for a student to consider in his or her perceptions of a course’s effectiveness, and the complexity of this issue is further heightened by how different individuals respond according to their race, their culture, their gender, and a host of other demographic or personally important factors.

2. Materials and Methods

Recently, this research team surveyed 92 undergraduate college students in an education department at a midwestern state university about their perceptions and preferences of university instructor attire while teaching a face-to-face course. The fundamental research question this study attempted to answer was, “Does what a college course instructor’s choice of attire influence student learning in a positive way?” Related research questions include the following:

• How do students perceive a college course instructor’s competence based on his or her clothing choices?
• How do students perceive a college course instructor’s approachability based on his or her clothing choices?
• Is there any difference in students’ preferences for male and female college course instructors’ attire?
• How do students of different races and ethnicities respond differently to instructor attire?

2.1. Sampling and Instrumentation

Before commencing the intended survey of students, the researchers sought Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from the university where one of the researchers serves as professor. The IRB process at this institution, while straightforward and expected in policy, procedures, and processes, is an exacting one. First, the primary researcher was required to participate in training and required to pass an assessment about using human subjects in research. Second, the researchers submitted a very thorough and detailed proposal that fully communicated their intended scope of study, their intended research processes, their intended research instrument, and their intended data security and storage. The IRB then convened at a regularly scheduled meeting to review the proposal, evaluating it in depth for the safety of potential subjects. Based upon strong guidelines and the expert opinion of board members, the proposal was approved for research completion.

Upon receiving Institutional Review Board approval, the researchers collected the email addresses of all students in their 1st or 2nd year (usually college sophomores and juniors) of teacher education program involvement. There were 217 students included in this group. The researchers then sent an email containing an electronic version of the study’s survey instrument to these students. Two weeks after the initial message, the researchers sent a follow-up message to request that students respond to the survey if they had not already done so. A week later, an additional reminder message was sent. Eventually 92 students responded to the survey—for a response rate of approximately 42%.

This sample group was selected because the researchers were most interested in improving the overall effectiveness of the teacher education program, so the current group of students initially in that program would have the most immediate impact on that stated goal.

The survey had a total of 27 questions. The first 15 questions were demographic in nature, asking the students about their family’s household income, their cumulative grade point average, their gender, their race and ethnicity, their political persuasion, their age, and their religion. In addition to requesting the demographic information mentioned above, the study’s survey then asked students to look closely at a picture of a person standing. Then, they were asked to respond to the following questions about that image:

• If your professor was wearing this while teaching, rate the impact on your learning in the course.
• If your professor was wearing this while teaching, rate the impact on your impression of him as a professional and skilled educator.
• If your professor was wearing this while teaching, rate how it would impact your impression of him as a friendly and relatable person.

These questions were repeated for a man and a woman wearing relaxed clothing (t-shirt and shorts), casual clothing (t-shirt and jeans), business casual clothing (collared shirts and khaki pants), and professional attire (suit and tie). Students responded to these questions using a 7-point Likert-type scale, rating their impact of the clothing from strongly negative to strongly positive. In addition to the Likert-type scale responses, students were also asked to comment about the questions and their experiences related to the survey’s topic. A total of 18 students left written comments about the survey’s subject. The survey is included as Appendix A.

2.2. Survey Reliability and Validity

To increase its overall reliability, an initial version of the survey was pre-tested with a sample population of approximately 25 students. Their feedback was instrumental in making beneficial improvements to the survey’s wording and presentation. Results from the pilot survey indicated to the researchers a need to simplify both the survey questions and the possible responses. Students also stated that the topic was unimportant to them; however, the findings seem to indicate that the information is actually important to students. Finally, in an effort to keep the survey as short as possible, understanding that full-time college students are less apt to respond to a lengthy and time-consuming research instrument, no internal repetition of the questions to measure that topic’s reliability was completed.

The essential validity question for a survey of whether there is a match between the data generated by the survey and the fundamental research topic being pursued can be answered very affirmatively for this study. The basic question of this study was, “Does what a college course instructor’s choice of attire influence student learning in a positive way?” and the survey results provide ample information to answer this fundamental research question. Over 90 students provided their personal opinion on just this topic.

2.3. Analysis Procedures

Because the survey was primarily intended to inform actual professors with general feedback about the impact of their clothing choices on student performance, the data was initially studied using primarily descriptive statistics. Because of the large number of survey responses, overall averages were used to determine broad trends within the data. Averages were calculated and reported across the topics being measured and across some of the demographics provided.

2.4. Foundational Survey Data

Most survey respondents would be classified as middle class with about 64% earning a household income of over $30,000, but a full quarter of the students surveyed (25%) earn right around the national poverty level for a family of four. To be officially admitted into this teacher education program requires a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.75, so it is expected that survey respondents would have higher GPAs; about a third of survey respondents are B+ or A students. As is well known, classroom teachers are often female, so 85% of survey respondents are that gender. Rural and small-town Midwest is primarily white, and students surveyed reflect that; 92% were Caucasian. Among these respondents, 5 self-identified as African American (5.4%), 3 identified as Hispanic (3.2%), 3 identified as Native American (3.2%), 2 identified as Asian (2.2%), and 1 identified as Middle Eastern or North African (1.1%), making the total minority population of respondents about 12%, significantly less than the current racial breakdown of the United States. Again, though, survey respondents were from one midwestern university with limited diversity because the original intent of the survey was program improvement.

Politically, there was balance between conservatives (28%) and progressives (26%) who responded to the survey. As expected, about 75% of respondents were under the age of 26. Finally, about half of the students surveyed were Protestant. The demographic data of the survey respondents is summarized in

Table 1. Surveyed students’ demographic summary.

Annual Household Income	25% $0–30,000	12% $30–50,000	25% $50–75,000	27% $75–100,000+	11% Undisclosed
Cumulative Grade Point Average	9% 2.5 or less	27% 2.51–3.00	29% 3.01–3.50	33% 3.50–4.00	2% Undisclosed
Gender	85% Female	13% Male	2% Undisclosed
Race/Ethnicity	92% White	3% Hispanic	5% Black	2% Asian	3% Nat. American
Political Preference	28% Republican	26% Democrat	4% Libertarian	11% Independent	29% Undisclosed
Age	43% 15–20	30% 21–25	9% 26–30	16% 31+
Religion	49% Protestant	14% Catholic	2% Jewish	35% Undisclosed

.

3. Results

In the comment section of the survey, approximately ten students wrote that they did not really care what their professors wore while teaching, but the overall “objective” or numeric survey responses did not indicate a total lack of preference. In general, students find more formal dress intimidating and more casual dress inappropriate for the professor. For both men and women, the highest positive responses for student learning, for assessment of instructor professionalism, and for perceived professor friendliness are for business casual dress; for example, about 50% of students perceive that this clothing style benefits their learning. More specific results are specified below.

3.1. Student Responses to Instructor Relaxed Attire

The data related to students’ responses to male professors dressed very casually in t-shirts and shorts is very clear. For the purposes of this study, this clothing level is referred to as “relaxed.” Only about 1 in 10 students (11%) surveyed perceived that an instructor dressed so informally aided their learning or was professional; conversely, almost a third of surveyed students found this clothing choice to hinder their learning, and 57% perceived the professor to be unprofessional. The results for a positive attitude toward women instructors dressed relaxedly were similar with 11% perceiving that the instructor’s effectiveness was improved and 15% perceiving the instructor to be professional, but a third of surveyed students disagreed, finding the informally dressed instructor to be unprofessional. The results, though, were not all negative. Around 60% of students found male and female professors dressed in this relaxed style to be approachable. While the number of students was too low (n = 5) to draw firm conclusions, it can be noted that a minimum of 60% of surveyed African-American students perceived a male or female instructor in relaxed attire to improve their learning, a figure much higher than for all students as shown below. More specific survey results related to student perceptions of instructors in very relaxed clothing are provided in

Table 2. Percent of student responses to relaxed instructor attire.

	Instructor Gender	Improved Learning	Instructor as Professional	Instructor as Approachable
Generally positive	Male Female	11% 11%	11% 15%	64% 58%
No opinion	Male Female	61% 72%	33% 52%	28% 35%
Generally negative	Male Female	28% 17%	57% 33%	7% 8%

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3.2. Student Responses to Instructor Casual Attire

The survey referred to instructors wearing blue jeans and t-shirts as casual wear. Overall, student opinions about this clothing level choice were consistent and clear. Those who found male instructors dressed this way to be effective as teachers and professional were calculated at only 17%; however, as before, students did find this casual clothing to be approachable (66%). Interestingly, even though this clothing choice is slightly more formal, students were more opposed to it with 20% and 39%, respectively, marking it negatively on the survey. Students were slightly more positive toward female instructors wearing jeans and a comfortable top; 22% of students found a professor dressed this way to be effective as a teacher and 29% found her to be professional. Once more, African-American students were much more positive about instructor attire’s impact on their learning with 60% of students expressing a generally positive attitude, and these opinions are equally true for both male and female instructors.

Table 3. Percent of student responses to casual instructor attire.

	Instructor Gender	Improved Learning	Instructor as Professional	Instructor as Approachable
Generally positive	Male Female	17% 22%	17% 29%	66% 62%
No opinion	Male Female	63% 63%	42% 49%	27% 29%
Generally negative	Male Female	20% 15%	39% 22%	7% 9%

shows more specific survey results related to student perceptions of instructors in casual clothing.

3.3. Student Responses to Instructor Business Casual Attire

Within the survey, business casual was presented as a collared, long-sleeved, Oxford-style shirt and Dockers-style slacks for men and a professional, long-sleeved blouse and non-denim slacks for women. Without question, this was universally the highest rated clothing style for both genders across its impact on learning, its apparent professionalism, and the friendliness it communicates to students. More than half of surveyed students (51%) perceived that this style of clothing on a male instructor enhanced their learning; 80% indicated that they found male education professors dressed this way to be professional in the performance of their instructional duties. Finally, 71% of students found a male instructor dressed in a business casual manner to be approachable. While the percentages for female professors in this category were slightly lower (46%, 72%, and 68%, respectively), student overall preference for this clothing style remains clear. The results for minority students under this category were very similar to those of all students. More specific survey results related to student perceptions of instructors in very relaxed clothing are provided in

Table 4. Percent of student responses to business casual instructor attire.

	Instructor Gender	Improved Learning	Instructor as Professional	Instructor as Approachable
Generally positive	Male Female	51% 46%	80% 72%	71% 68%
No opinion	Male Female	49% 54%	20% 27%	27% 32%
Generally negative	Male Female	1% 080%	0% 1%	2% 0%

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3.4. Student Responses to Instructor Business Professional Attire

The final clothing level considered by the survey was professional or more formal attire. The results for both male and female instructors in this category were very consistent. About two thirds of students (68% for male and 65% for female) perceived instructors dressed this way to be professional, about 40% (38% for male and 43% for female) perceived professionally dressed instructors to be approachable, and 37% of students surveyed found both male and female instructors in suits to benefit their learning. An interesting feature of these results would be the higher negative ratings for friendliness; about a third of students respond negatively to the approachability of instructors wearing suits. As previously identified, African-American students were again much more positively responsive to instructors in this clothing style with approval ratings of 60–80%. More specific survey results related to student perceptions of instructors in very relaxed clothing are provided in

Table 5. Percent of student responses to business professional or formal instructor attire.

	Instructor Gender	Improved Learning	Instructor as Professional	Instructor as Approachable
Generally positive	Male Female	37% 37%	68% 65%	38% 43%
No opinion	Male Female	50% 59%	22% 32%	28% 28%
Generally negative	Male Female	13% 4%	10% 3%	33% 28%

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3.5. Student Written Comments about Instructor Attire

Students provided about 30 voluntary written comments to the survey, which is about 30% of the survey participants. While the survey results themselves seem to argue against this perspective, seven students surveyed believed that instructor attire makes absolutely no difference. Along these lines, one surveyed student wrote, “It doesn’t matter to me. I’m paying for the class. I’m there to learn. I could care less what the professor is wearing.” Another commented that “the attire the instructor wears has little to no impact on my learning. I am the one in control of my learning.” About half of these comments, though, expressed student interest in instructor clothing choices that communicated friendliness or greater approachability. These students usually found more formal, professional wear to be intimidating or off-putting. Reflecting this common opinion, one student commented, “I find a more relaxed dress to be associated with knowing educators are more relatable to me as a student and are more approachable. A suit wouldn’t distract me in class but leads me to being more intimidated and less likely to want to talk to [the instructor] if there were any questions or concerns.” A second student wrote, “When professors dress extremely formal, it is intimidating and therefore causes students to be more reserved in class.” Another group of students did not think a specific style or formula for teaching attire was called for; instead, they simply asked instructors to dress “appropriately” depending on the course and situation. There were a total of eleven such comments (36% of the total comments), one stating very simply, “Some classes require less formal dress. It would be weird to see a PE teacher teaching people how to workout in a suit.” A peer presented his or her opinion this way: “Teachers should dress professionally at all times in a classroom. The clothes style shows authority and is much more presentable.”

Table 6. Subject coding for student comments about instructor attire.

Subject	Number of Comments	Subject	Number of Comments
Instructor attire is dependent on the situation.	5	Instructor style does not matter, but clothing should be neat and pressed.	2
Instructor attire should just be comfortable.	3	Instructor attire has no impact.	7
Instructor attire needs to be appropriate.	6	Instructor attire needs to communicate friendliness and approachability.	15

below provides additional information about subject coding for these students comments.

4. Discussion

Limitations

This study has a number of limitations. First, as with all surveys, respondent truthfulness cannot be verified. Some students may have answered according to what they perceived the researchers wanted to hear instead of their own personally held opinions. Second, although every effort was made to pre-test the survey for clarity and changes were made based on feedback from the pilot survey, confusion about questions could not have been explained, so survey respondents may have answered incorrectly because of a lack of clarity. Third, while the overall response rate was acceptable, students who chose not to participate in the survey may have all possessed a similar bias, specifically, believing that the topic did not matter, that instructor attire had no bearing on their learning. If this assumption is accurate, the results would be very different. Fourth, while the specific target of the study was education students, no disaggregation according to specific teaching area within education was pursued. It is possible that elementary education students perceive instructor attire differently from secondary physical education students, for example. Fifth, the surveyed population was, in many ways, very homogenous and may not reflect the wider population of teacher education students in more diverse settings. Survey respondents were 92% white and 85% female; other demographic groups could have different perceptions and preferences. Sixth, the pictures that were included in the survey might sway the results. The pictures might not be the good and real example of the “category” of the attire (esp. casual that looks very clean casual), and while no racial identification was intended, if students perceived the model’s race, that could have had an impact on their survey responses.

5. Conclusions

The stated goals for this study, the primary questions it attempted to answer, were whether instructor attire in a face-to-face course in a university undergraduate teacher education program made any meaningful impact on student self-perception of learning, on student self-perception of a professor’s approachability, and on student self-perception of professor competence or professionalism. In all three areas, survey results were clear. Education students surveyed prefer that their course instructors wear business casual-style clothing to maximize learning, approachability, and perceived professionalism. Clothing styles below this level (relaxed and casual) result in lower student assessments of professionalism and learning impact, and clothing styles higher than this (business professional) cause students to find the professor less approachable and more stifling to the learning environment. As previously mentioned, though, these apparent preferences refer to the total student population surveyed. When smaller demographic subgroups are considered, the results seem to change dramatically. Specifically, African-American students surveyed were much less critical and much more open to learning from more casually dressed instructors, but since the sample size within this study was so small (n = 5), no strongly stated conclusions can be provided.

Of course, additional research recommendations follow, but a possible initial recommendation would be for college education professors to consider business casual as their “default” instructional wear. Business casual is defined as slacks or khakis; dress or other collared shirt or blouse; dress or skirt at knee-length or below; and a shoe that covers, at minimum, most of the foot. This simple clothing choice results in positive effects for students. Those teaching at the university level for the first time within an education should be informed of this student expectation.

6. Recommendations for Additional Research

Further research into education professor attire to specify the needs of specific students is warranted. Do future teachers in urban or rural areas require different clothing models from their college instructors? As previously asked, do future elementary school teachers have a perspective significantly different from their secondary-level counterparts? While the number of minority students surveyed for this study was admittedly limited, there appear to be distinct and fascinating differences between preferences among different demographic groups, and this is a topic worthy of much deeper consideration. Not only would racial and ethnic differences in this area be beneficial to identify, but economic differences would be similarly helpful.

Of course, additional research into the actual academic impact of professor attire would be very beneficial. Student preferences are worthwhile, but sometimes students actually prefer actions that are not beneficial for their learning. Studies into the actual benefit of business casual clothing, for example, on student learning against expected teacher education standards would be very helpful. Finally, a follow-up study of first-year teacher preferences would fill a current gap in the literature. College graduates may reflect differently about their courses once they are in the classroom. It may be that a professor’s business casual clothing is less memorable than his or her powerful lesson about classroom management or data-driven instruction.