Nurse Teachers' Accounts of Their Perceptions and Practices of Written Feedback

Purpose:  Written feedback is an important aspect of students’ assessment and learning. Although the phenomenon of written feedback has been studied in various countries, most of the studies have focused on students’ perceptions or on the analysis of teachers’ marked papers. This study aimed to explore the nurse teachers’ perceptions of their practices of written feedback. Moreover, the factors that affected teachers’ practices of written feedback were also investigated.

Methods:  A descriptive exploratory design was employed in the study. A purposive sample of 12 teachers from public and private nursing institutions in Karachi, Pakistan, participated in the study. Using a semi-structured guide, in-depth interviews were conducted with the participants, between February-May, 2013. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were manually coded and categorized.

Results:  Analysis of the data led to four categories and sub-categories. The main categories were: teachers’ perceptions about written feedback, effects of written feedback on students from the teachers’ perspectives, teachers’ practices of providing written feedback on students’ assignments, and factors that affect the teachers’ practices of providing written feedback to their students. The findings indicated that although the teachers realize the importance of written feedback and its impact on students’ learning, several factors, including teachers’ competence and commitment, students’ receptivity, and contextual barriers, affected their practices.

 Conclusion:  Overall, this study has implications for teachers, students, and higher education institutions. To actualize the potential role of written feedback, the contextual factors must be known and addressed by the stakeholders.