Halo effect and psychological contracts in student evaluations of teaching: a case study from a leading Chinese Liberal Arts University

Abstract

Student Evaluations of Teaching (SETs) have been a crucial tool worldwide for assessing faculty’s teaching effectiveness in universities. However, the validity of SETs measures has been widely questioned. To explore the factors influencing college students’ evaluation preferences, this study employs a qualitative approach by interviewing 12 Chinese undergraduates from a leading Liberal Arts Chinese University. Drawing on theories of the halo effect and psychological contracts, this research uncovers multifaceted factors influencing SETs, including both pedagogical and non-pedagogical attributes of university instructors, students’ attributes as evaluators and the administration of assessments in universities. It emerges that students’ subjective interpretations of teaching effectiveness may deviate from accurately assessing teaching quality due to the halo effect. Moreover, psychological contracts among students, instructors and university administration create a collaborative dynamic. Additionally, information gaps among stakeholders lead to misaligned priorities, hindering evaluation effectiveness. It advocates for using SETs as formative tools, supplemented by multi-source assessment methods, to enhance validity and promote meaningful improvements in teaching.

Keywords

• Student evaluations of teaching (SETs)
• evaluation bias
• Liberal Arts undergraduates
• halo effect
• psychological contract
• Assessment