Theoretische und methodische Diskussionen der Lehrevaluationsforschung und deren praktische Bedeutung

Abstract

Quality measurement and quality enhancement and the evaluation of these actions are receiving increasing attention, even at universities. One of the most popular evaluation instruments used is student ratings of their courses. In our study, we collected and examined all student course-rating forms currently in use in social science departments in Germany. We paid special attention to the instrument used at the University of Constance, which we analyzed with psychometric methods. A further aim of this research project was to provide a thorough review of the current scientific discussion on the methodological quality of these measurements. Our report contains a section on these results. In analyzing the student course ratings reported here, one is able to derive teaching dimensions that should be evaluated separately. However, whether the dimensions found here provide an adequate description of the quality of teaching is open to debate. While the student ratings provide one measure of the value derived from teaching, the true benefits of that teaching may be evident only after several years. An accurate evaluation of the teaching quality at a given university should therefore consider not only the student ratings of the teaching but its long-term effects on the student's career, both academic and work-related.