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Playing the SET game: how teachers view the impact of student evaluation on the experience of teaching and learning
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Playing the SET game: how teachers view the impact of student evaluation on the experience of teaching and learning

Richard Lakeman, Rosanne Coutts, Marie Hutchinson, Debbie Massey, Dima Nasrawi, Jann Fielden and Megan Lee
2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2022.2126430
PMID: 35930709

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18 Times Cited - Web of Science

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#4 Quality Education

Source: InCites

Abstract

Student evaluation of teaching student feedback surveys teaching and learning academics Higher education Education assessment and evaluation Mental health Occupational health
Student evaluation of teaching (SET) has become a ubiquitous feature of higher education. The attainment and maintenance of positive SET is essential for most teaching staff to obtain and maintain tenure. It is not uncommon for teachers to receive offensive and non-constructive commentary unrelated to teaching quality. Regular exposure to SET contributes to stress and adversely impacts mental health and well-being. We surveyed Australian teaching academics in 2021, and in this paper, we explore the perceived impacts of SET on the teaching and learning experience, academic standards and quality. Many respondents perceived that SET contributes to an erosion of standards and inflation of grades. A thematic analysis of open-ended questions revealed potential mechanisms for these impacts. These include enabling a culture of incivility, elevating stress and anxiety in teaching staff, and pressure to change approaches to teaching and assessment to achieve the highest scores. Playing the SET game involves balancing a commitment to quality and standards with concessions to ensure optimal student satisfaction. Anonymous SET is overvalued, erodes standards and contributes to incivility. The process of SET needs urgent reform.

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