Learning and Teaching Conference 2014 Remembering the Student in Student Satisfaction Dr David Bowles

Visible league tables This one’s from The Guardian Mean = 89 Mean = 84 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 satisfaction Analysis from 1255 D&S respondents 2013 FactorStrength (Beta) 1. Teaching on course Academic support Personal Development Organisation & Mgmt Assessment & Feedback Resources.33

What uniquely predicts overall satisfaction? Analysis from 1255 D&S respondents 2013 FactorStrength (Beta) 1. Teaching on course Personal development Academic support Organisation & Mgmt Assessment & Feedback.04 (NS) 6. Resources.01 (NS)

What drives the overall “satisfaction” score? Analysis from 163 PSP respondents 2013 RankStrength (Pearson’s r) 1. Teaching on course Personal development Academic support Organisation & Mgmt Assessment & Feedback Resources.27

What uniquely predicts overall satisfaction? Analysis from 163 PSP respondents 2013 FactorStrength (Beta) 1. Teaching on course Personal development Academic support Organisation & Mgmt 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 satisfaction Personal 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 topic Predicting 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 MeasureCorrelation 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, FactorStrength (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 variables What’s next? Go-ahead to use actual NSS items at level 5 Test model of NSS items, person variables Personal Development Teaching Competence Overall Satisfaction