The college instructor as a leader: Some theoretical derivations from a generalization of a causal model of students’ evaluation of their instructors

In spite of the abundance of research reports in the field of instructor and course evaluation by students, the application of major theoretical psychological and sociological orientations to this field has been virtually ignored. This paper adopts the Ohio State University approach to leadership theory as an analytical tool for comprehending students’ ratings. Two main determinants of instructors’ scores are their instrumental contribution to the achievement of their classes’ goals and their success in enhancing their students’ interests. These two variables are claimed to resemble Initiating Structure and Consideration (14). The identification of leadership-bound components in faculty evaluation lends powerful theoretical integrity to the presently nontheoretical research of students’ evaluations. This paper expands such an approach which was developed at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel, and tests its applicability to another university, the University of Hawaii.