Feedback perceptions and attributions in three feedback conditions

Abstract

Feedback is an important factor in student performance. This study examines the relationship between feedback types, student perceptions, students’ causal attributions and willingness to improve according to feedback. Constructs were measured using previously validated instruments. The Feedback Perception Questionnaire (FPQ) was used to examine students’ perceptions and the Revised Causal Dimension Scale (CDS - II) was used to examine causal attributions. Participants are first and second year students of the Biology and Medical Laboratory Research (BML) bachelor’s program at Hogeschool Rotterdam (n = 195). Students received formative feedback, summative feedback or mixed feedback. The expected direct relationship between the feedback groups and the students’ willingness to improve their performance according to the feedback was not found in this study. It was therefore not possible to test for mediating roles of both students’ feedback perceptions and students’ causal attributions, respectively. This study was, however, able to find evidence for a direct relationship between students’ feedback perceptions and students’ willingness to improve their performance. Evidence for a relationship between students’ causal attributions and their willingness to improve their performance was also found.