Teaching and Learning in Black and White: Unpacking Students’ Perceptions of Black Faculty Teaching at a Predominantly White Institution

Extant research suggests that students at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) rate faculty of color (FOC) more negatively than White faculty. Despite these trends, efforts to promote the equitable interpretation of end-of-course evaluations remain elusive. In this self-study, we examined portfolio construction’s practical and empirical utility as a tool to combat biased student evaluations. Thematic content analysis was used to explore how students evaluated a Black female tenure-line and a Black male non-tenure-line professor at a PWI in the southern region of the United States. We investigated the effects of instructors’ perceived race and gender on students’ course evaluations. Data saturation was achieved after analyzing the open-ended responses, and three themes emerged: 1) values/biases, 2) intellectual inferiority, and 3) ‘othering’. Utilizing the tenets of critical race theory (CRT) and the phenomenon of ‘teaching while Black’, we reveal how race trumped gender and how negative student comments impacted our course evaluations. We constructed a reflective inquiry teaching portfolio to unpack these themes and engage in self-study. Implications and recommendations for using portfolio construction for reflective self-study are provided.