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Feedback: Critiquing Practice, Moving Forward

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Helen Williams  and
Nicola Smith
Helen Williams
Affiliation:
School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Nicola Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
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Abstract

Despite attempts by higher education institutions to improve the quality of feedback on assessed work, dissatisfaction expressed by students remains visible. This article draws upon the preliminary findings of a Higher Education Academy Collaborative Research Project on assessment feedback within two large political science and international relations departments. It offers a critical review of current feedback practices and processes and identifies four key issues – negativity, transferability, intelligibility, and consistency – that require attention in order to deliver more effective assessment feedback. The article also suggests practical ways forward in addressing these issues, highlighting in particular the importance of both structure and timing in helping to produce high-quality feedback efficiently.

Keywords

pedagogyfeedbackassessmentdialogic learning

Information

Type
Symposium
Information
European Political Science , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , June 2017 , pp. 159 - 178
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 European Consortium for Political Research

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Footnotes

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Corresponding author.

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