Extra Credit in the Sociology Classroom

The role of extra credit in the college classroom has been examined as a philosophical and pedagogical issue, but in this project, we argue that the matter of extra credit is also a sociological one. Using survey data, we examine how college instructors’ status and individual demographic characteristics are related to the use of extra credit. We found that women and instructors with less teaching experience are more likely to offer extra credit. Furthermore, we also found that instructors who perceived extra credit as a means to engage students with the world beyond the classroom were more likely to offer it. We situate our findings within a broader discussion of the pedagogical merits of extra credit for creating just learning environments within sociology