We Want to be More Involved: Student Perceptions of Students as Partners Across the Degree Program Curriculum

Authors

  • Kelly E Matthews Kelly Matthews, Senior Lecturer in Higher Education Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation, The University of Queensland Australian Learning & Teaching Fellow
  • Lauren J Groenendijk
  • Prasad Chunduri

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i2.3063

Keywords:

students as partners, student perspectives, higher education

Abstract

Engaging students-as-partners is gaining momentum in the higher education sector. This study explores undergraduate students’ perceptions of how involved they were in partnership activities across their degree programs, and whether this matched their desired level of involvement in such practices. Analysis of a quantitative study of 268 students showed statistically significant differences between perceived levels of importance and involvement for all the partnership practices (n=18) investigated in our survey. These results highlight that the students in this study want to be more substantially involved in partnership practices across their degree program. We argue against the consumerist rhetoric about the role of students as passive learners and advocate for greater inclusion of partnership activities that foster active student participation in shaping the university curricula. We discuss implications for Students as Partners in relation to the progressive development of university curricula and assessment practices along with future research directions. 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Lauren J Groenendijk

Lauren Groenendijk completed her honours year at the University of Queensland in 2016 and is now in Medical School.

Prasad Chunduri

Prasad Chunduri is a Lecturer in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Queensland.

References

Afolabi, F., & Stockwell, L. (2012). Graduate view: 'we are not customers'. Australia: The Guardian. Nov 2012. Retrieved on 30 November 2016 from: https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2012/nov/07/students-not-customers-graduate-view

Becher, T., & Trowler, P.R. (1989). Academic tribes and territories. London: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press.

Boud, D. (2010). Assessment 2020: Seven propositions for assessment reform in higher education. Australian Learning and Teaching Council. Retrieved on 30 November 2016 from: http://www.olt.gov.au/system/files/resources/Assessment 2020_final.pdf

Bunce, L., Baird, A., & Jones, S. (2016). The student-as-consumer approach in higher education and its effects on academic performance. Studies in Higher Education, online first, 1-21. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2015.1127908

Butcher, J., & Maunder, R. (2013). Going URB@N: exploring the impact of undergraduate students as pedagogic researchers. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 51(2), 142-152.

Carless, D. (2006). Differing perceptions in the feedback process. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 219-233.

Cook-Sather, A. (2016). Undergraduate students as partners in new faculty orientation and academic development. International Journal of Academic Development, 21(2), 151-162.

Cook-Sather, A. (2014). Student-faculty partnership in explorations of pedagogical practice: a threshold concept in academic development, International Journal for Academic Development 19(3), 186-198.

Cook-Sather, A. (2002). Authorizing Students’ Perspectives: Toward Trust, Dialogue, and Change in Education. Educational Researcher, 31(4), 3-14

Cook-Sather, A. (2006). The “constant changing of myself”: Revising roles in undergraduate teacher preparation. The Teacher Educator, 41(3), 187-206.

Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C. and Felten, P. (2014). Engaging students as partners in teaching and learning: A guide for faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Dvorakova, L., & Matthews, K.E. (2016). Graduate learning outcomes in science: variation in perceptions of single- and dual-degree students. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, published online 28 June 2016.

Fluckiger, J., Vigil, Y., Pasco, R., & Danielson, K. (2010). Formative Feedback: Involving Students as Partners in Assessment to Enhance Learning. College Teaching, 58(4), 136-140.

HEA and NUS (2011) Student Engagement Toolkit. Higher Education Academy and National Union of Students. Retrieved on 30 November 2016 from: www.nusconnect.org.uk/campaigns/highereducation/studentengagement/tool kit/resources/

Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2014). Engagement through partnership: students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. The Higher Education Academy, 7-60.

Healey, M., Bovill, C., & Jenkins, A. (2015). Students as partners in learning, in Lea, J. (Ed). Enhancing learning and teaching in higher education: engaging with the dimensions of practice. (pp. 141-163). Maidenhead: McGraw Hill/Open University Press.

Knight, P.T. (2001).Complexity and Curriculum: A process approach to curriculum-making. Teaching in Higher Education, 6(3),369-381.

Lizzio, A., & Wilson, K. (2009). Student participation in university governance: the role conceptions and sense of efficacy of student representatives on departmental committees. Studies in Higher Education, 34(1), 69-84.

Mårtensson, K., Roxå, T., & Stensaker, B. (2014). From quality assurance to quality practices: an investigation of strong microcultures in teaching and learning. Studies in Higher Education, 39(4), 534-545.
Matthews, K.E. (2016). Students as Partners as the Future of Student Engagement. Student Engagement in Higher Education, 1(1), 1-5.

Matthews, K. E., Adams, P., & Goos, M. (2015). The Influence of Undergraduate Science Curriculum Reform on Students’ Perceptions of their Quantitative Skills. International Journal of Science Education, 37(16), 2619-2636.

Matthews, K.E. Cook-Sather, A., & Healey, M. (forth-coming). Connecting learning, teaching, and research through student-staff partnerships: toward universities as egalitarian learning communities, in Tong, V., Standen, A., & Sotiriou. M (Eds.), Research equals Teaching: Inspiring research-based education through student-staff partnerships. London: University College Press.

Matthews, K.E., & Hodgson, Y. (2012). The Science Students Skills Inventory: Capturing Graduate Perceptions of Their Learning Outcomes. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 20(1), 24-43).

Matthews, K. E., & Mercer-Mapstone, L. D. (2016). Toward curriculum convergence for graduate learning outcomes: academic intentions and student experiences. Studies in Higher Education, 1-16. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2016.1190704

Nulty, D. (2008). The adequacy of response rates to online and paper surveys: what can be done? Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 33(3), 301- 314.

Seale, J., Gibson, S., Haynes, J., & Potter, A. (2015) Power and resistance: Reflections on the rhetoric and reality of using participatory methods to promote student voice and engagement in higher education, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 39:4, 534-552.

Varsavsky, C., Matthews, K., & Hodgson, Y. (2014). Perceptions of Science Graduating Students on their Learning Gains. International Journal of Science Education, 36(6), 929-951.

Waterfield, J., & West, B. (2006). Alternative and inclusive assessment case studies
– a staff development resource, In: Inclusive assessment in higher education: A resource for change (pp. 230–62). Plymouth: University of Plymouth. SPACE Project. Retrieved on 30 November 2016 from: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/uploads/production/document/path/3/3026/Space_toolkit.pdf

Weng, L.J. 2004. Impact of the number of response categories and anchor labels on coefficient alpha and test-retest reliability. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 64(6), 956-972.

Woolmer, C., Sneddon, P., Curry, G., Hill, B., Fehertavi, S., Longbone, C., & Wallace, K. (2016). Student staff partnership to create an interdisciplinary science skills course in a research intensive university. International Journal for Academic Development, 21(1), 16-27.

Downloads

Published

2017-10-07

How to Cite

Matthews, K. E., Groenendijk, L. J., & Chunduri, P. (2017). We Want to be More Involved: Student Perceptions of Students as Partners Across the Degree Program Curriculum. International Journal for Students As Partners, 1(2), 51–66. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i2.3063

Issue

Section

Research Articles