Sources of Variation in Students' Evaluations of Instruction in a Graduate Social Work Program

Abstract

Student course and instructor evaluations are widely used in schools of social work and are accorded an important role in educational planning, faculty promotion, tenure and salary decisions. Yet research evidence on the effects of confounding factors has raised questions of validity about student ratings. This study examines the influence of several different sets of instructor and course variables on students' ratings to determine their impact within a social work graduate program and to see if previous findings are replicated. No significant effects on ratings are found for instructor's rank or gender, course content or class size. The finding that elective courses revealed more positive ratings than required courses on two out of three student rating subscales was consistent with previous studies.