scholarly journals Teaching Quality in Higher Education: Agreement Between Teacher Self-reports and Student Evaluations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Daumiller ◽  
Stefan Janke ◽  
Julia Hein ◽  
Raven Rinas ◽  
Oliver Dickhäuser ◽  
...  

Teaching quality is a crucial factor within higher education. Research on this topic often requires assessing teaching quality as a global construct through self-reports. However, such instruments are criticized due to the lack of alignment between teacher and student reports of instructional practices. We argue that while teachers might over- or under-estimate specific dimensions of teaching quality, their aggregation in the form of overall teaching quality reflects differences in teaching quality between teachers well. Accordingly, we test a ten-item measure that allows faculty to self-report their overall teaching quality based on the aspects distinguished in the SEEQ (Marsh, 1982, 2007). Using 17,508 student assessments of teaching quality in 889 sessions taught by 97 faculty members, we conducted Doubly Latent Multi Level Modelling while considering bias and unfairness variables to model overall teaching quality assessed by students, and simultaneously corrected for measurement error and potential distortions through the assessment situation. This global factor of teaching quality was strongly associated with teacher self-reported teaching quality (ρ = .74), which we interpret as evidence that global teacher reports of teaching quality can serve as sensible indicators of overall teaching quality for nomothetic research in higher education.

2022 ◽  
pp. 563-578
Author(s):  
Anna Sendra ◽  
Natàlia Lozano-Monterrubio ◽  
Jordi Prades-Tena ◽  
Juan Luis Gonzalo-Iglesia

This paper introduces the results of applying a gameful approach based on six playful activities as a tool to improve the learning process in higher education. A total of 850 students from different courses of Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain) were involved in the study. The strategy was evaluated through a participant observation (active and passive) and mixed-methods surveys answered by the students. Results point out that most participants responded positively to the activities proposed. The reported levels of motivation and engagement also indicate the capabilities of this strategy as a method to enhance the learning experience of students. Despite these positive outcomes, challenges like the impact on working practices of teachers or the long-term engagement of gameful approaches requires additional research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jawad Abbas

Purpose Higher education institutions (HEIs) are responsible for training and transforming the students into valuable resources. Although students are believed to be the principal stakeholders in HEIs, limited research studies are available on service quality (SQ) in HEIs from students’ perspectives. This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating the factors, which constitute SQ in HEIs, specifically from students’ perspective, as existing literature on this topic is either from management and general perspective or is time dated. Design/methodology/approach The current study contributes by reviewing qualitative responses received through interviews and focus groups session with 43 students from 3 Turkey-based private HEIs. Data was collected from 43 students through 26 individual interviews and 3 focus group sessions and was analyzed through deductive reasoning using narrative and framework analysis with open coding. Findings The analysis of data indicated six main themes, specifically: teaching quality, facilities, support staff quality, employability links, safety and security and extra-curricular activities as indicators of SQ from students’ perspective. The findings of the study strongly comply with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and take steps by identifying employability and safety and security as new emerging indicators of the existing literature of SQ in HEIs. Originality/value The existing literature lacks to provide qualitative data on SQ in HEIs from students’ perspectives in Asian countries, particularly, in Turkey, the place of current research. The findings of the present research provide valuable insights to HEIs’ management to understand students’ perceptions of SQ, their expectations and experiences.


Author(s):  
Geraldine Torrisi-Steele

Higher education institutions are investing significant effort into the improvement of student success, retention and satisfaction. Some effort is being expended in research seeking to understand influencing factors, but the majority of effort is directed towards improving teaching quality. Effort to improve teaching quality is characterised by professional development initiatives, the general aim being to facilitate the shift away from traditional teacher-centred approaches, towards student-centred approaches. Though these initiatives are useful there exists an omission (or at the very least an area of severe-under-emphasis) within the discourse surrounding teaching quality in higher education – explicit attention to the teacher-student connection. The premise of the present article is that to make greater inroads into bettering student experiences and outcomes, the teacher-student connection, along with the humanist perspective in which it is embedded, is integral to the quality teaching practice in higher education.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-66
Author(s):  
Anna Sendra ◽  
Natàlia Lozano-Monterrubio ◽  
Jordi Prades-Tena ◽  
Juan Luis Gonzalo-Iglesia

This paper introduces the results of applying a gameful approach based on six playful activities as a tool to improve the learning process in higher education. A total of 850 students from different courses of Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain) were involved in the study. The strategy was evaluated through a participant observation (active and passive) and mixed-methods surveys answered by the students. Results point out that most participants responded positively to the activities proposed. The reported levels of motivation and engagement also indicate the capabilities of this strategy as a method to enhance the learning experience of students. Despite these positive outcomes, challenges like the impact on working practices of teachers or the long-term engagement of gameful approaches requires additional research.


Author(s):  
Graham Gibbs

The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) has evolved since it was first announced, and HEFCE guidance to institutions on its implementation reveals a number of significant concessions to evidence, common sense and fairness. Institutions may well implement useful teaching improvement mechanisms in response, as they have always done regardless of the nature of external quality assurance demands. However the rationale of the TEF remains – and it is deeply flawed. It is the rationale that this paper focuses on. It is argued here that its interpretation of evidence about educational quality, employability and value for money ratings, used to justify a TEF, are irrational and are not supported by evidence. Making fine judgments about institutional rankings (and hence fee levels) on the basis of metrics is likely to be thwarted by the very small differences in scores between institutions. Some of its proposed metrics are invalid. Its belief in the ability of a small panel of experts to make sound quality judgments is not well founded given the poor record of past attempts to make such judgments about teaching quality in higher education. The higher education market is very complex and perhaps only a minority of institutions will be able to benefit in the way the TEF intends. The TEF seems unlikely to be perceived, by most, as rewarding.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 461-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Carlucci ◽  
Paolo Renna ◽  
Carmen Izzo ◽  
Giovanni Schiuma

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for the analysis of students’ ratings of teaching quality in higher education and the disclosure of risky issues undermining the quality of teaching and courses that require attention for continuous improvement. The framework integrates two decision-based methods: the standardized u-control chart and the ABC analysis using fuzzy weights. The control chart, using the students’ ratings, allows the identification of those courses requiring an improvement of teaching quality in the short-medium term. While the ABC analysis uses fuzzy weights to deal with the vagueness and uncertainty of students’ teaching evaluations and provides a risk map of the potential areas of teaching performances improvement in the long term. The proposed framework allows the identification of teaching and course quality aspects that need corrective actions in response to students’ criticisms in accordance with different levels of priority. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts two methods, commonly used in industrial applications, i.e. the u-control chart and ABC analysis. Combining the results of a literature review on teaching evaluation and the application of these two methods as building blocks for the assessment, a framework to detect potential risks reducing teaching quality in higher education is proposed. The application of the framework is shown through an action-based case study developed in an Italian public university. Findings The study proposes a framework that combines two methods, i.e. u-control chart and ABC analysis with fuzzy weights, to support the assessment of teaching and course quality. The framework is proposed as an assessment approach of the teaching performance in higher education with the purpose to continuously improve the quality of teaching and courses both in the short, medium and long term. Originality/value The study provides an original contribution to the understanding of how to analyze students’ evaluation of teaching performance in order to take proper and timely decisions on corrective actions in response to the need of continuously improving the level of teaching and course quality.


Author(s):  
AMALIA VANACORE ◽  
Maria Sole Pellegrino

Students’ Evaluations of Teaching (SETs) are the most common way to measure teaching quality in Higher Education: they are assuming a strategic role in monitoring teaching quality, becoming helpful in taking the major formative and summative academic decisions. The majority of studies investigating SETs reliability focus on the instruments and the procedures adopted to collect students' evaluations rather than on the capability of the students as teaching quality assessors. In order to overcome this lack, a study has been carried out with the aim of measuring SETs reliability in terms of inter-student agreement and intra-student agreement. The results of our study show that the majority of students provided substantially repeatable evaluations whereas only a few students provided almost perfectly repeatable evaluations; the evaluations provided by different students generally slightly agreed, which means that the students did not share the same opinions and beliefs on teaching quality.


2020 ◽  
pp. 001312452092861
Author(s):  
Manhong Lai

Enhancing university teaching has become a focus of higher education reform policies on the Chinese mainland. Facilitating teacher collaboration within teacher communities is perceived to be an effective way of enhancing teaching quality. Using qualitative methods, we conducted in-depth interviews at a sample university (H) which is a regional university operated and financially supported by the regional government. Twenty academics in four separate departments (Management, Information Technology, Education, and Physics) were interviewed. First, we found that University H had arranged joint enterprises, that a standardized repertoire was used, and that detailed controls were exercised over teaching performance. Second, we also found that the rationale of patriarchal governance was hindering the development of a community of practice. Third, young teachers were employing a strategy of passive resistance to the arranged collaboration.


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