Do unto others or not: equity in feedback for undergraduates

Abstract

This article argues that the mechanisms and research culture that support university academics when writing articles for publication in an iterative feedback cycle, and which are within the tenets of good pedagogic principles of formative assessment and feedback (Sadler, 1989), are often missing to support undergraduate students in their learning. The reasons for this are mainly historical. Generally, this process is only available in universities at postgraduate level, as undergraduates tend not to be included in this type of learning culture. This is exacerbated because of the exclusion of undergraduates from assessment processes, which would help them to understand and assimilate the feedback on their work. Data collected from validated documentation of undergraduate programmes at a new English university were used to attempt to quantify possible feedback available to students and their access to assessment.

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank John Cowan, my daughter Catherine Angela Jones and Steve Whitley for their support and feedback.