Is my opinion important in evaluating lecturers? Students’ perceptions of student evaluations of teaching (SET) and their relationship to SET scores

Abstract

Previous studies have identified a positive relationship between students’ perceptions of student evaluations of teaching (SET) and the grades that students provide in SET, controlling for other bias factors. The research by Spooren and Christiaens in 2017 at the University of Antwerp supported this finding. In this study, the methodology used by Spooren and Christiaens was replicated at the Technological Indoamerica University in Ecuador, in a close conceptual replication. In the replicated study, 967 undergraduate participants answered the questionnaires used by the original authors. The replication study sample was very similar in size, seniority, and gender to the original study but not in academic disciplines studied. Most of the students agreed that the evaluation was relevant and could improve teaching practices. Results show a statistically significant but small positive relation among perceptions of SET and SET scores (0.20 for the Belgian university and 0.27 for the Ecuadorian university).