What is it about?
Basing its conclusion on a study conducted at a university in mainland China as well as on the wider Western literature, this paper argues that there likely is a universal desire on the part of students for the feedback they receive to be both educationally and psychologically supportive.
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Why is it important?
While approaches to learning and teaching may, understandably, vary between countries and cultures, the congruence in students' expectations of feedback highlighted by the study is significant for educationists insofar as that, while nuances of feedback provision may differ according to the national or cultural context, the general approach for doing so could or ought to be the same. There appears to be a "global language" of feedback provision which any pedagogue could learn. For theorists, this is important insofar as that it may aid in helping to formulate a theory on formative assessment and formative feedback.
Perspectives
The findings of this study have confirmed what I have believed for quite some time: Students, independent of where the classrooms they learn in might be situated, are not only aware of the potential added value that feedback presents but also desire for it to fulfill this function. In addition, they are - as we all are - emotional creatures and wish for feedback to play an emotionally supportive role. More cross-national and cross-cultural research in this area needs to be done to corroborate these views.
Dr Chris J Cookson
University for the Creative Arts
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Voices from the East and West: congruence on the primary purpose of tutor feedback in higher education, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, September 2016, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2016.1236184.
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