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Evaluating the Evaluations: A Factor Analysis of Student Ratings

1977; Wiley; Volume: 17; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/j.1556-6978.1977.tb01038.x

1556-6978

Gil E. Mazer,

Evaluation of Teaching Practices

Student evaluation of instruction and instructor performance in higher education are being accorded an increasingly prominent role in decisions concerned with faculty promotion and tenure, as well as with advisement on teaching strategies. In this context a number of factor analyses have been imposed upon student rating‐instruments in order to facilitate meaningful interpretation of student judgments. The present paper reports the resul ts of a factor analysis of the rating scales used by graduate students enrolled in counselor education programs at Western Michigan University to evaluate perceived quality of instruction. A principal components factor analysis yielded three interpretable factors that were labeled Responsiveness‐Rapport, Evaluation Process, and Instructional Merit. Implications of the factor structure for counselor educators are discussed.