This study attempts to understand the source of variation in the Students' Evaluation of Teaching (SET) of mathematics courses by comparing the data structure of engineering major students and mathematics major students' datasets. The sample considered in this study consists of 644 students distributed into two majors: 237 mathematics students and…

Student perception surveys are prominent and pervasive tools for teacher appraisal and feedback across international contexts, buoyed by the strong relationship between higher student ratings of teachers and additional measures of teacher effectiveness. Yet, there is disagreement and conflicting evidence regarding the underlying structure of…

Survey-based formats of assessing teaching quality in higher education are widely used and will likely continue to be used by higher education institutions around the world as various global trends contributing to their widespread use further evolve. Although the use of mobile devices for course evaluation continues to grow, there remain some…

Quantitative student evaluations of teaching (SET) and assessments are widely used in higher education as a proxy for teaching quality. However, SET are a function of individual rating behaviours resulting from student background, knowledge and personalities, as well as the learning experience being rated. SET from three years of data from a…

Comparing teachers' self-assessment to classes' assessment of quality of teaching can offer insights for educational research and be a valuable resource for teachers' continuous professional development. However, the quality of teaching needs to be measured in the same way across perspectives for this comparison to be meaningful. We used data from…

In the current study we examined the relationships between student evaluations of lecturers (teaching surveys) and faculty members' perceptions of these surveys as capable of blocking and limiting their professional advancement. Faculty members are judged and evaluated by academic authorities for their academic performance in research and…

Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) are widely used to measure teaching quality in higher education and compare it across different courses, teachers, departments and institutions. Indeed, SETs are of increasing importance for teacher promotion decisions, student course selection, as well as for auditing practices demonstrating institutional…

With the worldwide implementation of students' evaluation of teaching (SET), faculty attitudes and trust in students' feedback as well as possible defensive (i.e., self-protective) motivations seem most relevant to the facilitation of the primary organizational goal of SET, namely, teaching improvement. A questionnaire--administered to 2241…

A Bayesian IRT-model approach was used to investigate the validity and reliability of student perceptions of teaching quality. Furthermore, the student perceptions were compared with ratings of teaching quality by external observers. Grade 4 students (n = 675) filled out a questionnaire that was used to measure their opinions about the lessons of…

Peer review is a powerful method to enhance teaching in higher education. Peers, however, may not be the most relevant people in evaluating teaching success; as the most important stakeholders in learning, students' evaluations need to be heard. Whilst some efforts to capture "the student voice" are simplistic and may foster consumerist…

To track the quality of instruction delivered at the University of Western Australia, the university surveys all units using its Students' Unit Reflective Feedback (SURF) metrics, and faculties use these metrics to benchmark student satisfaction. Consequently, teaching staff are actively encouraged to adopt teaching practices that will increase…

This paper examines empirically the determinants of student evaluation of teaching (SET). Empirical models were specified and estimated using the SET data collected in Hong Kong over six academic years. A key finding is that three different origins of students had a differentiated impact on teaching evaluation. In particular, students from…

Concerns over the usefulness and validity of student ratings of instruction (SRI) have continued to grow with online processes. This paper presents seven common and persistent concerns identified and tested during the development and implementation of a revised SRI policy at a Canadian research-intensive university. These concerns include bias due…

Societal, governmental, and research expectations of universities in contemporary western society have led to increasing calls for teacher professionalism and accountability as well as research excellence and research-informed teaching. Consequently, demands on academic staff development continually emerge, which academics may view as oppressive.…

This study compares student evaluations of instruction that were collected in-class with those gathered through an online survey. The two modes of administration were compared with respect to response rate, psychometric characteristics and mean ratings through different statistical analyses. Findings indicated that in-class evaluations produced a…