Teachers’ perceptions of student evaluations of teaching

Abstract

Evaluation of teaching in higher education has drawn much attention due to the need for greater accountability and improvement in student learning. Our review of literature on Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) surveys suggests that considerable controversy and criticism have surrounded its use, fairness, and validity. Yet, many universities in Hong Kong are depending primarily on student feedback in SET surveys to provide evidence for their improvement of teaching and learning, and for their decisions made on teachers' pay-rise and tenure. If universities are to continue to use SET surveys as the main source of mechanism for measuring teaching effectiveness, teachers will have to understand and be aware of its purposes. But how much do we know about teachers' perceptions of teaching and learning and, consequently, their opinions of using SET surveys as the primary standardized evaluation mechanism of teaching for promotion and tenure and for teaching effectiveness?

Keywords:

• student evaluation
• teaching effectiveness
• higher education
• SET survey
• teacher perception of teaching and learning

Notes on contributors

Cecilia Ka Yuk Chan is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Prior to her appointment in HKU, she was an Assistant Professor and Programme Coordinator in the Faculty of Engineering at the Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland. Cecilia has many practical experiences in relation to learning and teaching particularly in improving student retention rates. She has been involved in numerous researches and the development of engineering education. Her research fields are transferable skills in higher education, assessment and active learning, women in engineering, student retention, recruitment, and motivation. Cecilia holds a PhD in the field of Digital Signal Processing and Machine Vision in Electrical Engineering and also a Postgraduate Diploma and an MA in Higher Education.

Lillian Yun Yung Luk is a senior research assistant at the Centre for Enhancement in Teaching and Learning, and she is also pursuing a PhD with the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong. Her PhD research project is on students' learning through internship experience. Her research interests include student motivation, experiential learning, assessment, and the development of transferable skills.

Dr. Lily Min Zeng is a lecturer at the Centre for Academic Development at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW). Prior to her appointment as lecturer at VUW, she served as a lecturer at the Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at the University of Hong Kong, where she oversaw the collection and analysis of research postgraduates' research experience data at the university level, coordinated postgraduate supervision workshops for new supervisors of the research students, and coordinated certificate courses for tutors and lab demonstrators. She has over 13 years of working experience at tertiary level in Mainland China and Hong Kong. Her main research interests are conceptual change and teaching and learning, with a particular emphasis on these issues in a cross-cultural context.