The Questionnaire Design and Basic Characteristics of Undergraduates’ Course Experience: A Survey of 2018 Graduates in Shaanxi Province

doi:10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2020.11.006

Abstract

Abstract: Undergraduates’ course experience is a key indicator of teaching quality. Based on Course Experience Questionnaire complied by McInnis and other researchers, we designed the Shaanxi Graduates’ Course Experience Questionnaire with the model of presage process and product (3P model) by combining self-developed “the University Mathematics Classroom Environment Questionnaire (UMCEQ)” and applied it to investigate all the graduates in Shaanxi Province of 2018. The analysis of the survey data showed that the questionnaire performed well in validity and reliability, and can be used to measure graduates’ course experience in Shaannxi scientifically, effectively and reliably. Hence, it is an effective measurement to evaluate the teaching quality. And if we marked graduates’ score different dimensions of course experiences in percentage grading system, then their perceptions reached the passing level in four dimensions (Learning Resources, Course Organization, Good Teaching,Independence) and reached medium level in seven other dimensions (Student Support, Clear Goals and Standards, Learning Community, Appropriate Workload, Appropriate Assessment, Intellectual Motivation and Graduate Qualities). Based on what we’ve found, we are still facing some challenges in pursuing the first-class undergraduate education. In addition, graduates’ course experiences are significantly different considering their backgrounds like gender, major, and institutional level. Therefore, targeted measures should be taken to optimize undergraduates’ course experience and improve education quality of regular colleges according to undergraduates’ gender, major and institutional level.

Key words: undergraduates, course experience, Shaanxi Province

Lu Genshu, Li Lijie. The Questionnaire Design and Basic Characteristics of Undergraduates’ Course Experience: A Survey of 2018 Graduates in Shaanxi Province[J]. Journal of East China Normal University(Educational Sciences), 2020, 38(11): 78-89.

References

陆根书, 程光旭 & 杨兆芳. (2010). 大学课堂学习环境论. 西安: 西安交通大学出版社.
陆根书, 潘娇 & 邱捷. (2011). 钱学森实验班学生课程学习经历调查分析. 中国大学教学,(11),87-89
陆根书. (2018). 从学生课程学习经历看本科教学质量. 苏州大学学报(教育科学版), (4),9-11, 23
尹弘飚 & 李瑾瑜. (2015). 优化高校教学: 来自大学生课程经历的启示. 高等教育研究,36(8),62-69
张萍, 陆根书 & 程文文. (2006). 教学情景对大学生学习方式的影响. 教学研究,29(4),301-305
Ainley, J. & Long, M. (1994). The Course Experience Survey: The 1992 graduates. Graduate Careers Council of Australia, Department of Employment, Education and Training, Canberra, ACT.: Australian Government Printing Service.
Asonitou, S., Mandilas, A., Chytis, E. & Latsou, D. (2018). A Greek Evaluation of the Course Experience Questionnaire: Students’ Conceptions of the Teaching Quality of Higher Education Accounting Studies. International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), 11(2), 51-62
Barattucci, M. & Zuffo, R. G. (2012). Measuring Learning Environment Perceptions: Validation of the Italian Version of the Approaches to Studying Inventory and the Student Course Experience Questionnaire. TPM: Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 19(1), 15-33
Broomfield, D. & Bligh, J. (1998). An Evaluation of the ‘Short Form’ Course Experience Questionnaire with Medical Students. Medical Education, 32(4), 367-369
Byrne, M. & Flood, B. (2003). Assessing the Teaching Quality of Accounting Programmes: An Evaluation of the Course Experience Questionnaire. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(2), 135-145
Chakrabarty, A. K., Richardson, J. T. & Sen, M. K. (2016). Validating the Course Experience Questionnaire in West Bengal Higher Secondary Education. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 50, 71-78
Eley, M. (2001). The Course Experience Questionnaire: Altering Question Format and Phrasing Could Improve the CEQ’s Effectiveness. Higher Education Research & Development, 20(3), 293-312
Entwistle, N. J. & Ramsden, P. (1983). Understanding Student Learning. London: Croom Helm.
Fryer, L. K., Ginns, P., Walker, R. A. & Nakao, K. (2012). The Adaptation and Validation of the CEQ and the R-SPQ-2F to the Japanese Tertiary Environment. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(4), 549-563
Ginns, P., Prosser, M. & Barrie, S. (2007). Students’ Perceptions of Teaching Quality in Higher Education: The Perspective of Currently Enrolled Students. Studies in Higher Education, 32(5), 603-615
González, C., Montenegro, H. & López, L. (2012). Analysis of the Reliability and Validity of the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ). Educación y Educadores, 15(1), 63-78
Grace, D., Weaven, S., Bodey, K., Ross, M. & Weaven, K. (2012). Putting Student Evaluations into Perspective: The Course Experience Quality and Satisfaction Model (CEQS). Studies in Educational Evaluation, 38(2), 35-43
Griffin, P., Coates, H., McInnis, C. & James, R. (2003). The Development of an Extended Course Experience Questionnaire. Quality in Higher Education, 9(3), 259-266
Harris, K. L.& James, R. (2010). The Course Experience Questionnaire, Graduate Destination Survey, and Learning and Teaching Performance Fund in Australia Higher Education. In Dill, D. D., & Beerkens, M.(Eds), Public Policy for Academic Quality: Higher Education Dynamics. (pp. 99-119). Dordrecht: Springer Science & Business Media.
Jansen, E., Van der Meer, J. & Fokkens-Bruinsma, M. (2013). Validation and Use of the CEQ in The Netherlands. Quality Assurance in Education, 21(4), 330-343
Kreber, C. (2003). The Relationship between Students’ Course Perception and Their Approaches to Studying in Undergraduate Science Courses: A Canadian Experience. Higher Education Research & Development, 22(1), 57-75
Law, D. C., & Meyer, J. H. (2011). Adaptation and Validation of the Course Experience questionnaire in the Context of Post-secondary Education in Hong Kong. Quality Assurance in Education, 19(1), 50-66
Marsh, H. W. (1987). Students’ Evaluations of University Teaching: Research Findings, Methodological Issues, and Directions for Future Research. International Journal of Educational Research, 11(3), 253-388
McInnis, C., Griffin, P., James, R. & Coates, H. (2001). Development of the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ). Canberra: Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs.
Price, L., Richardson, J. T., Robinson, B., Ding, X., Sun, X. & Han, C. (2011). Approaches to Studying and Perceptions of the Academic Environment among University Students in China. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 31(2), 159-175
Ramsden, P. (1991). A Performance Indicator of Teaching Quality in Higher Education: The Course Experience Questionnaire. Studies in Higher Education, 16(2), 129-150
Ramsden, P. & Entwistle, N. J. (1981). Effects of Academic Departments on Students’ Approaches to Studying. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 51(3), 368-383
Richardson, J. T. (1994). A British Evaluation of the Course Experience Questionnaire. Studies in Higher Education, 19(1), 59-68
Thien, L. M., & Ong, M. Y. (2016). The Applicability of Course Experience Questionnaire for a Malaysian University Context. Quality Assurance in Education, 24(1), 41-55
Trigwell, K. & Prosser, M. (1991). Improving the Quality of Student Learning: The Influence of Learning Context and Student Approaches to Learning on Learning Outcomes. Higher Education, 22(3), 251-266
Tucker, B., Jones, S. & Straker, L. (2008). Online Student Evaluation Improves Course Experience Questionnaire Results in A Physiotherapy Program. Higher Education Research & Development, 27(3), 281-296
Wilson, K. L., Lizzio, A. & Ramsden, P. (1997). The Development, Validation and Application of the Course Experience Questionnaire. Studies in Higher Education, 22(1), 33-53
Yin, H. & Ke, Z. (2017). Students’ Course Experience and Engagement: An Attempt to Bridge Two Lines of Research on the Quality of Undergraduate Education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 42(7), 1145-1158
Yin, H. & Lu, G. (2014). Development and Validation of an Instrument for Assessing Mathematics Classroom Environment in Tertiary Institutions. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 23(3), 655-669
Yin, H. & Wang, W. (2015). Assessing and Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Teaching in China: The Course Experience Questionnaire. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 40(8), 1032-1049
Yin, H., Lu, G. & Wang, W. (2014). Unmasking the Teaching Quality of Higher Education: Students’ Course Experience and Approaches to Learning in China. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 39(8), 949-970
Yorke, M. (1995). Siamese Twins? Performance Indicators in the Service of Accountability and Enhancement. Quality in Higher Education, 1(1), 13-30