An assessment of the process of student evaluation of teaching effectiveness

M.Phil.Orientation: There is a worldwide trend in higher education institutions to include student evaluation of teaching effectiveness (SET) as part of the quality-assurance process of teaching. The act of teaching creates such an intricate relationship between students and lecturers that students’ feedback is seen as a vital component in the quality assurance process of education. However, the process of SET has given rise to much controversy. There is no established and recognised process for the collating and application of student feedback. Furthermore, there is little agreement on what constitutes effective teaching, which further complicates its measurement. Many researchers question students’ ability to objectively provide valid and reliable ratings that can be used to make fair and informed decisions regarding lecturers' performance. In spite of all these criticisms, student feedback of teaching effectiveness remains one of the most utilised sources of evidence in assessing and improving teaching effectiveness. Research purpose: This study qualitatively explores the perceptions and experiences of all stakeholders involved in the process of student evaluation of teaching effectiveness in order to improve the process at a private higher education institution (HEI), namely the Midrand Graduate Institute (MGI). The study further aims to determine whether the process of SET delivers on the intended purpose of its implementation. Motivation for the study: SET has been widely researched; however, there is a dearth of research on the operationalisation of SET and, more specifically, the process underpinning SET. This study investigates the existing process of SET at a HEI through qualitative evaluation in order to understand more about the process of SET and to make recommendations based on insights obtained from the data. An understanding of the experiences and perceptions of all stakeholders in the process of SET may address the gap between the current and the ideal process. Although the process of student evaluations has been widely researched internationally, there is a lack of qualitative evaluation research with regard to SET in South Africa. Also, the process has not been evaluated at private higher institutions in South Africa