Student Evaluation of Teaching: More Harm than Good?
https://doi.org/10.31992/0869-3617-2023-32-8-9-130-146
Abstract
Student evaluation of teaching (SET) has more than forty years of history as a tool of feedback in North American, Australian and European universities. In Russian universities it is not widespread, although increasing its implementation could solve the problem of Russian students feeling that they are not involved in the management of the educational process and improve the quality of courses and teaching. The barriers to the implementation of SET in the Russian higher education system, among other things, are concerns and prejudices of teachers and students, who see SET more as a problem than an effective tool. In this article, authors analyze the most common faculty concerns about student evaluations of teaching, obtained from ten focus groups in five Russian universities. Authors put collected opinions in the context of the recent methodological discussions about the validity of Student Evaluations of Teaching. The main idea is that SET is an effective tool of getting feedback in higher education and involvement of students and teachers in a dialogue and cooperation in the educational process, but highly questionable as a data source for administrative decisions.
Keywords
student evaluation of teaching,
higher education,
assessment,
quality of education,
university management
Supporting agencies: The research has been supported by the Development Program of Tomsk State University (Priority 2030).
About the Authors
M. O. Abramova
National Research Tomsk State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Сand. Sci. (Philosophy), Director of the Center for the Sociology of Education of the Institute of Education
36 Lenin ave., Tomsk, 634050
A. V. Filkina
National Research Tomsk State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Cand. Sci. (Soc.), Research Fellow at the Center for Sociology of Higher Education of the Institute of Education
36 Lenin ave., Tomsk, 634050,
References
1. Sukhanova, E.A., Terent’ev, E.A., Barannikov, K.A., Frumin, I.D., Abramova, M.O. et al. (2023). Universitetskaya natsional’naya iniciativa kachestva obrazovaniya: analiz situatsii v kontekste novykh zadach razvitiya sistemy: Analiticheskij doklad [University National Education Quality Initiative: Situation Analysis in the Context of New System Development Challenges: Analytical Report]. Tomsk: Tomsk State University Publ., 32p. Available at: http://docs.io.tsu.ru/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/UNIKO_2023.pdf (accessed 07.06.2023). (In Russ.).
2. Stroebe, W. (2020). Student Evaluations of Teaching Encourages Poor Teaching and Contributes to Grade Inflation: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis. Basic and Applied Social Psychology. Vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 276-294, doi: 10.1080/01973533.2020.1756817
3. Zaitseva, E., Santhanam, E., Tucker, B. (2021). Analysing Student Feedback in Higher Education. Routledge Press. 238 p., doi: 10.4324/9781003138785
4. Marsh, H.W. (1982). SEEQ: A Reliable, Valid, and Useful Instrument for Collecting Student’s Evaluations of University Teaching. British Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 77-95, doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8279.1982.tb02505.x
5. Marsh, H.W. (1984). Students’ Evaluations of University Teaching: Dimensionality, Reliability, Validity, Potential Biases, and Utility. Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol. 76, no. 5, pp. 707-754, doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.76.5.707
6. Gruzdev, I.A., Efimov, D.B. (2021). Studencheskaya ocenka prepodavaniya kak instrument upravleniya kachestvom obrazovaniya v usloviyah distancionnogo i smeshannogo obucheniya [Student Evaluation of Teaching as a Tool for Managing the Quality of Education in Distance and Blended Learning]. Tomsk: Tomsk State University Publ., 24 p. Available at: https://publications.hse.ru/pubs/share/direct/527981342.pdf?ysclid=ljvl3b2blv105198418 (accessed 07.06.2023). (In Russ.).
7. Spooren, P., Vandermoere, F. , Vanderstraeten, R., Pepermans, K. (2017). Exploring High Impact Scholarship in Research on Student’s Evaluation of Teaching (SET). Educational Research Review. Vol. 22, pp. 129-141, doi: 10.1016/j.edurev.2017.09.001
8. Grebnev, L.S. (2022). Learning: What Should a Student Assess? Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. Vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 68-81, doi: 10.31992/0869-3617-2022-31-2-68– 81 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).
9. Proshkin, B.G., Klenikova, N.V. (2013). The Experience of Students Assessing Teachers at the Economical Faculty of Kemerovo State University. Vestnik Kemerovskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta = Bulletin of Kemerovo State University. Vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 269-275. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_20176076_74488046.pdf (accessed: 07.06.2023). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).
10. Merkulova, O.P. (2012). Evaluation of Educational Process by Students. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. No. 2, pp. 18-24. Available at: https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=17357722 (accessed: 02.01.2022). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.)
11. Marsh, H.W. (2007). Students’ Evaluations of University Teaching: Dimensionality, Reliability, Validity, Potential Biases and Usefulness. In: R.P. Perry, J.C. Smart (eds). The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: An Evidence-Based Perspective. Springer Netherlands, pp. 319-383, doi: 10.1007/1-4020-5742-3_9
12. Hornstein, H.A. (2017). Student Evaluations of Teaching Are an Inadequate Assessment Tool for Evaluating Faculty Performance. Cogent Education. Vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1-8, doi: 10.1080/2331186x.2017.1304016
13. Boring, A., Ottoboni, K., Stark, P.B. (2016). Student Evaluations of Teaching (Mostly) Do not Measure Teaching Effectiveness. Science Open Research. January 9, pp. 1-11, doi: 10.14293/s2199-1006.1.sor-edu.aetbzc.v1
14. Cohen, P.A. (1981). Student Ratings of Instruction and Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis of Multisection Validity Studies. Review of Educational Research. Vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 281-309, doi: 10.3102/00346543051003281
15. Feldman, K.A. (1989). The Association Between Student Ratings of Specific Instructional Dimensions and Student Achievement: Refining and Extending the Synthesis of Data From Multisection Validity Studies. Research in Higher Education. Vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 583-645, doi: 10.1007/bf00992392
16. Nargundkar, S., Shrikhande, M. (2012). An Empirical Investigation of Student Evaluations of Instruction – The Relative Importance of Factors. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education. Vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 117-135, doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4609.2011.00328.x
17. Uttl, B., White, C.A., Gonzalez, D.W. (2017). Meta-analysis of faculty’s teaching effectiveness: Student evaluation of teaching ratings and student learning are not related. Studies in Educational Evaluation. Vol. 54, pp. 22-42, doi: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2016.08.007
18. Heffernan, T. (2022). Sexism, Racism, Prejudice, and Bias: A Literature Review and Synthesis of Research Surrounding Student Evaluations of Courses and Teaching. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. Vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 144-154, doi: 10.1080/02602938.2021.1888075
19. Wang, G., Williamson, A. (2020). Course Evaluation Scores: Valid Measures for Teaching Effectiveness or Rewards for Lenient Grading? Teaching in Higher Education. Vol. 27, pp. 1-22, doi: 10.1080/13562517.2020.1722992
20. Berezvai, Z., Lukáts, G.D., Molontay, R. (2021). Can Professors Buy Better Evaluation with Lenient Grading? The Effect of Grade Inflation on Student Evaluation of Teaching. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. Vol. 46, no. 5, pp. 793-808, doi: 10.1080/02602938.2020.1821866
21. Stark, P., Freishtat, R. (2014). An Evaluation of Course Evaluations. ScienceOpen Research. Pp. 1-7, doi: 10.14293/s2199-1006.1.sor-edu.aofrqa.v1
22. Esarey, J., Valdes, N. (2020). Unbiased, Reliable, and Valid Student Evaluations Can Still be Unfair. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. Vol. 45, no. 8, pp. 1106-1120, doi: 10.1080/02602938.2020.1724875
23. Flodén, J. (2017). The Impact of Student Feedback on Teaching in Higher Education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. Vol. 42, no. 7, pp. 1054-1068, doi: 10.1080/02602938.2016.1224997
24. Chen, Y., Hoshower, L.B. (2003). Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness: An Assessment of Student Perception and Motivation. Assessment & evaluation in higher education. Vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 71-88, doi: 10.1080/02602930301683
25. McClain, L., Gulbis, A., Hays, D. (2018). Honesty on Student Evaluations of Teaching: Effectiveness, Purpose, and Timing Matter! Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. Vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 369-385, doi: 10.1080/02602938.2017.1350828
26. Jones, J., Gaffney-Rhys, R., Jones, E. (2014). Handle with Care! An Exploration of the Potential Risks Associated with the Publication and Summative Usage of Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) Results. Journal of Further and Higher Education. Vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 37-56, doi: 10.1080/0309877X.2012.699514
27. Tucker, B. (2014). Student Evaluation Surveys: Anonymous Comments that Offend or are Unprofessional. Higher Education. Vol. 68, pp. 347-358, doi: 10.1007/s10734-014-9716-2
28. Ulker, N. (2021). How Can Student Evaluations Lead to Improvement of Teaching Quality? A Cross-National Analysis. Research in Post-Compulsory Education. Vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 19-37, doi: 10.1080/13596748.2021.1873406
29. Carless, D., Boud, D. (2018). The Development of Student Feedback Literacy: Enabling Uptake of Feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. Vol. 43, no. 8, pp. 1315-1325, doi: 10.1080/02602938.2018.1463354
Review
Views:
1005
Email this article 