Canadian university professors are left-leaning, and a large part of the right-leaning profs that remain keep their political views quiet..The findings were announced in a report for the Macdonald Laurier Institute entitled, The viewpoint diversity crisis at Canadian universities: Political homogeneity, self-censorship, and threats to academic freedom. .Professors Christopher Dummitt and Zachary Patterson wrote the report, which corroborates the findings of studies performed in the US, UK, and elsewhere: Canadian higher education is in crisis..The study, based on a Leger survey of professors and members of the public conducted last March, shows Canadian universities lack diversity of opinion. Professors, especially the 9% of conservative professors whose views differ from the overwhelmingly dominant left-leaning views held by 88% of professors, are increasingly self-censoring for fear of reprisal..In the 2021 election, more than 76% of profs voted for the Liberals and NDP, with another 11% voting NDP or Bloc. Only 9% voted Conservative or People’s Party..The authors found left-leaning professors were at ease, while the right-leaning felt a bit under siege. Nearly 88% of left-leaning profs had little to no worry of their political views being made known, while 44% of right-leaning professors worried about facing negative consequences if colleagues, students, or others on campus learned of their political opinions. As it is, 40% of right-leaning professors feel they face a hostile work environment..Fear of negative consequences led to self-censorship being exercised by 57% of right-leaning professors and 34% of left-leaning profs..Between 32% and 34% of professors are prepared to limit academic freedom and “cancel” their colleagues out of a commitment to their political views on social justice..“This level of fear and hostile climate should raise a red flag about freedom of speech at universities,” the authors said..“Professors provided a range of examples and scenarios in which they have kept silent on topics — from changing the way they teach and avoiding topics altogether to even changing their research career in order to avoid possible negative repercussions.”.Dummitt and Patterson warn the campus monoculture has significant negative impacts on the quality of education students receive, and external intervention is necessary to reverse the trend. They say academic freedom is “a key tool in a liberal society to protect the disadvantaged and a mechanism for correcting the illiberalism of repressive and conformist majorities.” .The authors call for the creation of an Academic Freedom Act, which would tie provincial funding for post-secondary institutions to their adherence to fundamental principles under the act that protects academic freedom. They also recommend measures to enshrine institutional neutrality on partisan or controversial issues, the elimination of political loyalty tests from research funding and hiring, legislation that unions cannot discriminate on the basis of politics, and the promotion of a culture of academic freedom at universities..“Deliberation in homogeneous organizations like universities can lead to even greater polarization precisely because there aren’t divergent voices to offer counter perspectives, or bring to light useful information that might otherwise be overlooked,” write Dummitt and Patterson. .“We need to trust that universities are places where different perspectives can be aired openly and collegially, fostering the highest quality debate on pressing issues.”.The study also found professors viewed the purpose of university somewhat differently from the public. Half the public ranked preparing students for the workforce as the top priority and another 29% placed it second..Meanwhile, 76% of professors ranked it as either third or fourth. Education, research, and social justice were the other choices.
Canadian university professors are left-leaning, and a large part of the right-leaning profs that remain keep their political views quiet..The findings were announced in a report for the Macdonald Laurier Institute entitled, The viewpoint diversity crisis at Canadian universities: Political homogeneity, self-censorship, and threats to academic freedom. .Professors Christopher Dummitt and Zachary Patterson wrote the report, which corroborates the findings of studies performed in the US, UK, and elsewhere: Canadian higher education is in crisis..The study, based on a Leger survey of professors and members of the public conducted last March, shows Canadian universities lack diversity of opinion. Professors, especially the 9% of conservative professors whose views differ from the overwhelmingly dominant left-leaning views held by 88% of professors, are increasingly self-censoring for fear of reprisal..In the 2021 election, more than 76% of profs voted for the Liberals and NDP, with another 11% voting NDP or Bloc. Only 9% voted Conservative or People’s Party..The authors found left-leaning professors were at ease, while the right-leaning felt a bit under siege. Nearly 88% of left-leaning profs had little to no worry of their political views being made known, while 44% of right-leaning professors worried about facing negative consequences if colleagues, students, or others on campus learned of their political opinions. As it is, 40% of right-leaning professors feel they face a hostile work environment..Fear of negative consequences led to self-censorship being exercised by 57% of right-leaning professors and 34% of left-leaning profs..Between 32% and 34% of professors are prepared to limit academic freedom and “cancel” their colleagues out of a commitment to their political views on social justice..“This level of fear and hostile climate should raise a red flag about freedom of speech at universities,” the authors said..“Professors provided a range of examples and scenarios in which they have kept silent on topics — from changing the way they teach and avoiding topics altogether to even changing their research career in order to avoid possible negative repercussions.”.Dummitt and Patterson warn the campus monoculture has significant negative impacts on the quality of education students receive, and external intervention is necessary to reverse the trend. They say academic freedom is “a key tool in a liberal society to protect the disadvantaged and a mechanism for correcting the illiberalism of repressive and conformist majorities.” .The authors call for the creation of an Academic Freedom Act, which would tie provincial funding for post-secondary institutions to their adherence to fundamental principles under the act that protects academic freedom. They also recommend measures to enshrine institutional neutrality on partisan or controversial issues, the elimination of political loyalty tests from research funding and hiring, legislation that unions cannot discriminate on the basis of politics, and the promotion of a culture of academic freedom at universities..“Deliberation in homogeneous organizations like universities can lead to even greater polarization precisely because there aren’t divergent voices to offer counter perspectives, or bring to light useful information that might otherwise be overlooked,” write Dummitt and Patterson. .“We need to trust that universities are places where different perspectives can be aired openly and collegially, fostering the highest quality debate on pressing issues.”.The study also found professors viewed the purpose of university somewhat differently from the public. Half the public ranked preparing students for the workforce as the top priority and another 29% placed it second..Meanwhile, 76% of professors ranked it as either third or fourth. Education, research, and social justice were the other choices.
