Feedback and focus: Exploring post-secondary students’ perceptions of feedback, mindfulness, and stress

Abstract

Addressing feedback-associated stress as a barrier to learning is increasingly relevant to student success and well-being. Mindfulness practices support stress management for students during the academic feedback process. Even if students receive high-quality feedback, the receiving end of feedback can be stressful, perhaps raising feelings of anxiety, confusion, or inadequacy. Feedback literacy and mindfulness practices complement one another. Mindfulness can potentially support feedback literacy by focusing one’s attention on the tasks needed to address feedback, instead of being distracted by emotions triggered by feedback. This study, comprised of an online survey (n = 237) and focus groups (n = 6), assesses post-secondary students’ perceptions concerning feedback literacy, mindfulness, and stress, and their thoughts about digital mindfulness tools intended to support students experiencing feedback-associated stress. Recruitment of students was from courses in Health Sciences, Medical Sciences, Media Studies, and Law. The survey data demonstrate that students with greater mindfulness have significantly greater feedback literacy as well as lower stress. Focus group data shows that a broad range of affective and behavioral responses are shaped by students’ perceptions of their abilities, circumstances, and feedback itself. Although students expressed familiarity with mindfulness practices, few considered explicitly linking mindfulness to their feedback process. Nevertheless, students expressed interest regarding the development of digital mindfulness tools to alleviate feedback-associated stress and offered recommendations for implementation.

Keywords:

• Feedback
• mindfulness
• stress
• learning
• post-secondary students

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Stephen Darwin, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Chile

SUBJECTS:

• Mental Health
• Adult Education and Lifelong Learning
• Higher Education
• Study Skills

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Lorelei Lingard from the Centre for Education and Research Innovation (CERI), Western University, for mentoring us on qualitative research methodology and analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by a Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry Faculty Support for Research in Education (FSRE) grant under Grant number R6236A02; Western University Interdisciplinary Development Initiatives (IDI) grant under Grant number R6236A03; and Western Strategic Support for SSHRC Seed Grant under Grant number R6236A04.