Burden, P. (2007). Benefit or bane?: Teachers’ reflections on the usefulness of student evaluation of teaching surveys

Twenty-two EFL teachers teaching full or part time in tertiary institutions in western Japan volunteered to participate in hour-long interviews in which they outlined their beliefs about the introduction of student evaluation of teaching (SET) surveys at their respective universities. They suggested that, in the current administrative climate, SET surveys lack utility. Teachers feared being evaluated unfairly because the consequences of this evaluation tool were often unknown or clouded due to administrative timing. Thus the purpose of evaluation remained unexplained. Teachers in this study were expected to administer SET surveys without any consultation or input into the questions, and because of the implied threat of evaluation, minimum standards were reinforced, teachers gained little, if any, new knowledge, and questioned the value of feedback, if it was received.

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