Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2011

Publication Title

Canadian Journal of Higher Education

Volume

41

Issue

1

First Page

18

Last Page

33

Abstract

This paper analyzes the ideological orientations of Canadian university professors based on a unique 2000 study of a representative sample of Canadian academics (n=3,318). After summarizing methodological problems with extant research on this subject, and tentatively comparing the political views of Canadian and American academics, the paper demonstrates that Canadian academics fall to the left of the political spectrum but are not hugely different in this respect from the Canadian university-educated population. Multivariate analyses reveal considerable heterogeneity in the ideological views of Canadian professors, suggesting that contemporary characterizations of the North American professoriate as left- or right-leaning tend to be overdrawn. Multivariate analyses demonstrate the importance of disadvantaged status and disciplinary socialization in shaping professors’ ideological views, although selfselection processes are not discounted.

Comments

This article was first published in the Canadian Journal of Higher Education. Please visit them online to access additional articles.

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