EFFECTIVENESS OF FEEDBACK TO TEACHERS AS A FUNCTION OF SOURCE

286 TEACHERS WERE SEPARATED BY YEARS OF TEACHING EXPERIENCE AND SUBJECTED TO 1 OF 4 CONDITIONS: (1) FEEDBACK FROM STUDENTS ONLY, (2) FROM SUPERVISORS, I.E., VICE-PRINCIPALS ONLY, (3) FROM BOTH STUDENTS AND SUPERVISORS, AND (4) FROM NEITHER (NO FEEDBACK). IT WAS FOUND THAT STUDENT FEEDBACK LED TO A POSITIVE CHANGE AMONG TEACHERS (AS MEASURED BY CHANGE IN STUDENTS' RATINGS ACROSS A 12-WK INTERVAL). SUPERVISOR FEEDBACK ADDED NOTHING TO THIS EFFECT WHEN COMBINED WITH STUDENT FEEDBACK, AND WHEN ALONE, PRODUCED CHANGE IN A DIRECTION OPPOSITE TO THE FEEDBACK AS COMPARED TO THE NO-FEEDBACK CONDITION. LESS EXPERIENCED TEACHERS SHOWED GREATER RECEPTIVITY TO STUDENT FEEDBACK THAN THEIR MORE EXPERIENCED COUNTERPARTS WHILE THE REVERSE HELD TRUE FOR RECEPTIVITY TO SUPERVISOR FEEDBACK. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1968 American Psychological Association.