Obstacles and opportunities: addressing the growing pains of summative student evaluation of teaching

Summative student evaluation of teaching (SET) is a contentious process, but given the increasing emphasis on quality and accountability, as well as national and international calls for centralised student feedback systems, is likely to become an inevitable aspect of teaching. This research aimed to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Assessment and evaluation in higher education 2013-05, Vol.38 (3), p.363-376
Main Author: Surgenor, P.W.G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Attitudes
Barriers
College Faculty
College Students
Data Analysis
Data Collection
Educational evaluation
Feedback
Feedback (Response)
Focus Groups
Foreign Countries
Higher education
Ireland
Learning
Opportunities
quality
Student Evaluation
Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance
student evaluation of teaching (SET)
summative
Summative Evaluation
Teacher Attitudes
Teacher Competencies
Teacher Effectiveness
Teacher Evaluation
Teacher evaluations
Teaching
Validity
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Summary:Summative student evaluation of teaching (SET) is a contentious process, but given the increasing emphasis on quality and accountability, as well as national and international calls for centralised student feedback systems, is likely to become an inevitable aspect of teaching. This research aimed to clarify academics' attitudes to SET in a large Irish university to identify obstacles to be addressed and opportunities to be developed. Manual thematic analysis was conducted on the transcriptions from four focus groups and written responses to focus group questions. Four themes emerged, relating to the purpose, validity, usefulness and consequences of SET. Opportunities to be developed included student accountability for students and easily obtained feedback on modules and teaching. Obstacles to be addressed included: challenges to academics' autonomy; speculation on potential negative consequences; difficulties measuring good teaching; and implications of SET data in both a personal and professional capacity. The research concludes by suggesting a reconsideration of the role of, and attitudes towards, SET in light of a shifting educational paradigm, and stating that SET has the potential to become an indicator of dedication to teaching and improvement, to ensure student feedback plays a role in promoting quality learning and not just quality stats.
ISSN:0260-2938
1469-297X
DOI:10.1080/02602938.2011.635247