Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T09:57:50.277Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Undergraduate management students’ perceptions of feedback in a New Zealand university

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2013

Kala S. Retna  and
Robert Y. Cavana
Kala S. Retna*
Affiliation:
Victoria Business School, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Robert Y. Cavana
Affiliation:
Victoria Business School, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
*
Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Feedback to students is an important feature of assessment in higher education. Constructive and timely feedback guides students to improve on a continuous basis in the process of their tertiary education. This paper outlines an exploratory study based on survey research, which was conducted on a large sample of undergraduate students on management courses in a New Zealand university. Following a review of the relevant literature a conceptual model was developed using systems thinking principles. A questionnaire was designed consisting of 20 closed Likert questions and two open questions designed to explore students’ perceptions of the feedback given to them on their formative assessments. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were undertaken of the data collected from over 600 valid responses. The quantitative analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, an exploratory factor analysis and Pearson's correlation analysis. The four main factors to emerge were: improvement of work quality, improvement of results, need for feedback and quality of feedback. The qualitative analysis was based on these themes. The results of these analyses are discussed in this paper. This paper attempts to contribute to the ongoing discussion regarding the better understanding of the complex relationships between feedback and student learning in tertiary level management education.

Keywords

feedbackformative assessmentmanagement educationstudent learningsurvey analysisNew Zealand university
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , March 2013 , pp. 224 - 237
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Alton-Lee, A. (2003). Quality teaching for diverse students in schooling: Best evidence synthesis. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education.Google Scholar
Askew, S., Lodge, C. (2000). Gifts, ping-pong and loops-linking feedback and learning. In S. Askew (Ed.), Feedback for learning (pp. 1–17). London, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1991). Social theory of self-regulation. Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, 50, 248–287.Google Scholar
Brown, G., Bull, J., Pendlebury, M. (1997). Assessing student learning in higher education. London, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Butler, A. C., Henry, L. R. III (2008). Feedback enhances the positive effects and reduces the negative effects of multiple-choice testing. Memory & Cognition, 36(3), 604–616.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Butler, A. C., Karpicke, J. D., Roediger, H. L. III (2007). The effect of type and timing of feedback on learning from multiple-choice tests. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 13, 273–281.Google Scholar
Carless, D. (2006). Differing perceptions in the feedback process. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 219–233.Google Scholar
Cavana, R. Y., Delahaye, B. L., Sekaran, U. (2001). Applied business research: Qualitative and quantitative methods. Brisbane, Qld, Australia: Wiley.Google Scholar
Cross, K. P. (1996). Improving teaching and learning through classroom assessment and classroom research. In G. Gibbs (Ed.), Improving student learning: Using research to improve student learning (pp. 3–10). Oxford, UK: Oxford Centre for Staff Development.Google Scholar
Driscoll, C., Wicks, D. (1998). The customer-driven approach in business education: A possible danger? Journal of Education for Business, 74(1), 25–41.Google Scholar
Duncan, N. (2007). ‘Feed-forward’: Improving students’ use of tutor comments. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 32(3), 272–283.Google Scholar
Espasa, A., Meneses, J. (2010). Analysing feedback processes in an online teaching and learning environment: An exploratory study. Higher Education, 59(3), 277–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Falchikov, N. (1995). Improving feedback to and from students. In P. Knight (Ed.), Assessment for learning in higher education (pp. 157–166). London, UK: Kogan Page.Google Scholar
Fedor, D. B. (1991). Recipient responses to performance feedback: A proposed model and its implications. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 9, 73–120.Google Scholar
Gibbs, G. (1999). Using assessment strategically to change the way students’ learn. In S. Brown & A. Glasner (Eds.), Assessment matters in higher education: Choosing and using diverse approaches (pp. 41–53). Buckingham, UK: SRHE and Open University Press.Google Scholar
Gibbs, G. (2002). Evaluating the impact of formative assessment on student learning behaviour. Invited address: Earli-Northumbia Assessment Conference, 28–30 August.Google Scholar
Gibbs, G. (2006). How assessment frames student learning. In C. Bryan & K. Clegg (Eds.), Innovative assessment in higher education (pp. 23–36). London, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L. (2006). Multivariate data analysis (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Hattie, J., Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Higgins, R., Hartley, P., Skelton, A. (2002). The conscientious consumer: Reconsidering the role of assessment feedback in student learning. Studies in Higher Education, 27, 53–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyland, P. (2000). Learning from feedback on assessment. In P. Hyland & A. Booth (Eds.), The practice of university history teaching (pp. 233–247). Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.Google Scholar
Irons, A. (2008). Enhancing learning through formative assessment and feedback. New York, USA: Routledge.Google Scholar
James, R., McInnis, C., Devlin, M. (2002). Assessing learning in Australasian universities: Ideas strategies and resources for quality in student assessment. Melbourne, Vic, Australia: Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne.Google Scholar
Leckey, J., Neill, N. (2001). Quantifying quality: The importance of student feedback. Quality in Higher Education, 7(1), 19–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maani, K. E., Cavana, R. Y. (2007). Systems thinking, system dynamics: Managing change and complexity (2nd ed.). Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson Education.Google Scholar
Maringe, F. (2006). University and course choice: Implications for positioning, recruitment and marketing. International Journal of Educational Management, 20(6), 466–479.Google Scholar
Marzano, R., Pickering, D., Pollock, J. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.Google Scholar
Molesworth, K., Nixon, E., Scullion, R. (2009). Having, being and higher education: The marketisation of the university and the transformation of the student into consumer. Teaching in Higher Education, 14(3), 277–287.Google Scholar
Nicol, D. J., Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006). Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 199–218.Google Scholar
Orsmond, P., Merry, S., Reiling, K. (2000). The use of student derived marking criteria in peer and self-assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 25(1), 21–38.Google Scholar
Orsmond, P., Merry, S., Reling, K. (2002). The student use of formative feedback in their learning. Paper presented at the Learning Communities and Assessment Cultures Conference. England: University of Northumbia.Google Scholar
Paige, D. D. (1966). Learning while testing. Journal of Educational Research, 59, 276–370.Google Scholar
Pitman, T. (2000). Perceptions of academics and students as customers: A survey of administrative staff in higher education. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 22(2), 165–175.Google Scholar
Race, P. (2001). Using feedback to help students to learn. Heslington, York, UK: The Higher Education Academy.Google Scholar
Ramachandran, N. T. (2010). Marketing framework in higher education: Addressing aspirations of students beyond conventional tenets of selling products. International Journal of Educational Management, 24(6), 544–556.Google Scholar
Ramaprasad, A. (1983). On the definition of feedback. Behavioural Science, 28, 4–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Retna, K. S., Chong, E., Cavana, R. Y. (2009). Tutors and tutorials: Students’ perceptions in a New Zealand university. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 31(3), 251–260.Google Scholar
Ribchester, P., France, D., Wakefield, K. (2008). It was just like a personal tutorial: Using podcasts to provide effective feedback. Paper presented at the Higher Education Academy Conference, July.Google Scholar
Rust, C. (2002). The impact of assessment on student learning. Active Learning in Higher Education, 3(2), 145–148.Google Scholar
Sadler, D. R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional Science, 18, 119–144.Google Scholar
Stefani, L. J. (1998). Assessment in partnership with learners. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 23, 339–350.Google Scholar
Sterman, J. D. (2000). Business dynamics: Systems thinking and modeling for a complex world. Boston, MA: Irwin McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Sullivan, H. J., Schutz, R. E., Baker, R. L. (1971). Effects of reinforcement contingencies. American Educational Research Journal, 8, 135–141.Google Scholar
Svenson, G., Wood, G. (2007). Are university students really customers? When illusion may lead to delusion for all. International Journal of Management, 21(1), 17–28.Google Scholar
Swann, J., Arthur, J. (1998). Empowering lecturers: A problem-based approach to improving assessment practice. Higher Education Review, 31(2), 50–74.Google Scholar
Taras, M. (2003). To feedback or not to feedback in student self-assessment. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(5), 549–565.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trotter, E. (2006). Student perceptions of continuous summative assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 31, 505–521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tshibalo, A. E. (2005). Computer aided assessment and its potential impact on teaching and learning in higher education. Paper presented at the Making a Difference: 2005 Evaluations and Assessment Conference, Sydney, Australia, December.Google Scholar
VUW (2009). Tertiary Assessment and Higher Education Student Outcomes. Symposium by Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, November 2009.Google Scholar
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. London, UK: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Weaver, M. R. (2006). Do students value feedback? Student perceptions of tutors’ written responses. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(3), 379–394.Google Scholar
William, D. (2007). Keeping learning on track: Classroom assessment and the regulation of learning. In F. Lester Jr. (Ed.), Second handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning (pp. 1053–1098). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.Google Scholar
William, D., Black, P. (1996). Meanings and consequences: A basis for distinguishing formative and summative functions of assessment? British Educational Research Journal, 22(5), 537–548.Google Scholar
Yorke, M. (2003). Formative assessment in higher education: Moves towards theory and the enhancement of pedagogic practice. Higher Education, 45, 477–501.Google Scholar
Young, P. (2000). ‘I might as well give up’: Self-esteem and mature students’ feelings about feedback on assignments. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 24(3), 409–418.Google Scholar