Learning and Teaching Conference 2014

Learning and Teaching Conference 2014

Remembering the Student in Student Satisfaction

Dr David Bowles

Visible league tablesThis one’s from The Guardian

Mean = 89

Mean = 84

Mean = 70

Mean = 70

NSS score: how calculated?Simple…

Likert scale response to“Overall, I am satisfied with my course”Score 4 (agree) or 5 (totally agree) = yes

NOT aggregate of NSS items

Individual NSS categories relation to overall satisfactionAnalysis from 1255 D&S respondents 2013

Factor Strength (Beta)

1. Teaching on course .68

2. Academic support .62

3. Personal Development .60

4. Organisation & Mgmt .55

5. Assessment & Feedback .53

6. Resources .33

What uniquely predicts overall satisfaction?Analysis from 1255 D&S respondents 2013

Factor Strength (Beta)

1. Teaching on course .33

2. Personal development .24

3. Academic support .20

4. Organisation & Mgmt .16

5. Assessment & Feedback .04 (NS)

6. Resources .01 (NS)

What drives the overall “satisfaction” score?Analysis from 163 PSP respondents 2013

Rank Strength (Pearson’s r)

1. Teaching on course .71

1. Personal development .71

3. Academic support .62

4. Organisation & Mgmt .58

5. Assessment & Feedback .42

6. Resources .27

What uniquely predicts overall satisfaction?Analysis from 163 PSP respondents 2013

Factor Strength (Beta)

1. Teaching on course .37

1. Personal development .34

3. Academic support .20

4. Organisation & Mgmt .23

5. Assessment & Feedback -.10 ns

6. Resources -.07 ns

Note: logistic regression with binary CV similar pattern

What regression analysis shows:Teaching is strongest predictor of satisfactionPersonal Development is close behind

Personal development items:“Course has helped me to present myself with confidence”“My communication skills have improved”“As a result of the course, I feel confident in tackling unfamiliar problems”

Limitation:

Data taken from the NSS database so could not be related to other variables of interest

New questions...

•What do the students think is important to their satisfaction?

•Does ability affect satisfaction?

•Wait a minute - I'm a psychologist. I should be asking "what is the psychology of student satisfaction?"

(2012)

Variables related to academic well-being

•Self-esteem•Self-efficacy•Psychological need satisfaction:

– Autonomy– Relatedness– Competence

Support for autonomy and competence are essential for growth and well-being in any learning environment (Ryan & Deci, 2000)

Basic Psychological Needs and Academic satisfaction: A rare study topicPredicting Instructor/course satisfaction (Filac & Sheldon, 2003)

Current study (D&S LTA funded)

•250 level 5 D&S students– DLC, Humanities, PSP– Self-report questionnaires– Focus groups

Data collected by research assistant Gemma Sharkey

Study designed to address the following questions about what predicts overall satisfaction:

•What do the students think affects it?

•Does academic ability predict it?

•Do psychological person variables predict it?

•Which variables have unique predictive power in the explanation of overall satisfaction?

How important are the following to your overall satisfaction?

Psychology of student satisfaction

• Entry points• Predicted degree• Academic skills• Self-esteem• Self-efficacy• Basic Psychological Needs for

– Autonomy– Relatedness– Competence

The variables of interest

Psychological correlates of student satisfaction

Measure Correlation with Satisfaction

Need satisfaction: Competence .34

Academic skills .23

Need satisfaction: Relatedness .22

Need satisfaction: Autonomy .21

Self-efficacy .19

Self-esteem .17

Entry points -.03 ns

Estimated degree .03 ns

N = 250, all ps < .01 (except 'ns')

What uniquely predicts overall satisfaction?N = 250, ** p < .01,

Factor Strength (Beta)

Need satisfaction: Competence .25**

Academic skills .09 ns

Need satisfaction: Relatedness .11 ns

Need satisfaction: Autonomy .00 ns

Self-efficacy .07 ns

Self-esteem -.03 ns

Note: logistic regression with binary CV similar pattern

Person variables explain variance in satisfaction

Competence

Academic skills

Related-ness

Autonomy

Self-esteem

Self-efficacy

Via the sense of felt competence

Overall Satisfaction

NSS items of most importance:• teaching quality• students’ personal development

Collating points from both studies

Person variable of most importance:• competence

...resources for maximising course satisfaction should be directed at enabling academic staff to excel as inspirational tutors, tutors who facilitate the development of competence and confidence in the personal journey of students.

Limitations

Could not relate individual or subscale NSS items to person variablesWhat’s next?

Go-ahead to use actual NSS items at level 5Test model of NSS items, person variables

Personal Development

Teaching

Competence Overall Satisfaction