Examining students’ feedback engagement and assessment experiences: a mixed study

Abstract

This study examined students’ feedback engagement and assessment experiences in a higher education teacher programme with the Assessment Experience Questionnaire (n = 182) and individual interviews (n = 14). The results suggested that quantity of effort and feedback quality were the most important predictors of variance in students’ use of feedback. Feedback quality was a stronger predictor for female students’ use of feedback compared to male students. Feedback quantity partially mediated the relationship between use of feedback and feedback quality for all students. The interviewed students emphasised that feedback had to be comprehensible, process-oriented, and dialogic to be used. On the contrary, feedback barriers were considered to occur when feedback was negative, incomprehensible, contradictory, or lacked relevance. Maladaptive feedback agency was reported to be exercised by students when teacher-student relationships were affected by mistrust, negativity, or disagreements. The results indicated a summative assessment culture with some formative traits.