Adapting to the European Higher Education Area a questionnaire on student opinion about the teaching of lecturers.

Abstract

The aim of this work is to present the adaptation to the European Higher Education Area of a questionnaire on the opinions of University of the Basque Country students about their lecturers teaching process. This process undertaken at the University used a mixed methodology approach. After reviewing questionnaires from other universities, taking into account the theoretical framework of the new questionnaire, the transversal skills adopted by the University and the three dimensions set out by ANECA, a series of indicators and possible items deemed suitable to be included in the new questionnaire were drawn up. This theoretical framework, the indicators and the items were all compared and contrasted within various focus groups undertaken with experts in the topic, with lecturers from the different areas of the University, and with students. Based on this comparison, the pilot questionnaire, which had 18 items plus two more criterion-referenced items, was drawn up. This was applied to a sample of almost one thousand students. The analyses carried out to compare the efficacy of the items, as well as the reliability and the validity of the test, show that the questionnaire rigorously complies with the standards required by this type of instrument. Finally, in the discussion of the results, certain controversial aspects, or those relating to improving the evaluation of the university teaching staff, are presented. Indicated amongst these aspects, is the need to incorporate the questionnaire into a more wider-ranging evaluation plan, such as DOCENTIA, the possibility of creating banks of items, the inclusion of open items and the exigency of undertaking on-line applications of the questionnaire.

Keywords

• Teacher evaluation
• European Higher Education Area
• survey validation
• reliability
• ; validity
• mixed methods