An Exploration Study of the Factors Influencing Students' Experiences with Assessment Feedback in the UK

Abstract

Recent attention in literature has been given to the agency of students in the feedback process. This research aims to explore the experiences that students have of assessment feedback during their study in EAP programmes. In order to obtain vivid data that can help in understanding such experiences, both interviews and questionnaires were used sequentially, and were able to provide interesting insights into students’ experiences, including their responses to assessment feedback. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interviews and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, as well as structural equation modelling to analyse the questionnaire. The findings revealed that students joining EAP programmes value and appreciate assessment feedback on their academic writing. They also found it an opportunity to learn from the feedback and relate it to further learning. The study also highlights that the process of feedback involves a complex interplay between the cognitive and affective dimensions that could be affected by different factors. The findings suggest that the students are aware of the usefulness of the role of the feedback to advance their academic writing, even though they feel upset or disappointed in regards to it.
Furthermore, the research identified the factors that influence students’ responses to assessment feedback. Various factors related to the feedback message, the feedback provider and to students themselves have been revealed in the interview data. These factors were later examined in the quantitative phase. Results from exploratory factor analysis revealed that students display two types of responses to assessment feedback (positive and negative responses); and four factors (students self efficacy in writing, language mindset beliefs, perceptions of teacher role, preferences of the mode of feedback). The results of confirmatory factor analysis led to a model of students’ responses to assessment feedback that consists of the six factor structure. Additionally, SEM results confirmed that students’ self-efficacy in writing and their perceptions of the teachers’ role were strong predictors of their responses to assessment feedback. Self-efficacy was the strongest factor that influences students͛ positive responses to assessment feedback, whereas students’ perceptions of the teacher’s role were the strongest factor that influences their negative responses to assessment feedback. Interestingly, language mindset beliefs was found as a significant moderator of the relationship between their self-efficacy and their negative responses to assessment feedback, which indicates that this factor could make a noticeable difference in experiences with assessment feedback. Thus, future research investigating experiences with assessment feedback from students’ perspectives should consider the examination of their mindset beliefs, and how it could impact on their responses.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Ying Zheng: orcid.org/0000-0003-2574-0358

ORCID for Glyn Hicks: orcid.org/0000-0003-4126-8655

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