Student evaluation of teaching business administration - Analysis of validity concerns and influences on overall ratings

Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture

Based on the analysis of the design and the results of studies on the "validity" of student evaluations of teaching, the research project aims to show why the ratings seem to be valid indicators of student satisfaction but not necessarily of student learning. It further intends to examine the content validity of instruments (mostly questionnaires) used to evaluate teaching. The main objective of the research project is not only to discuss the pros and cons of SETs but also to conduct an empirical study focusing on the student evaluation of Accounting teachers at Austrian Commercial Colleges. It is intended to identify the factors that primarily influence the students´ evaluations by comparing the variables of teacher behavior with other
variables that may influence students when they form their opinions on their teachers.