Evaluating the validity of Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness (SET) in India

Abstract

Purpose – There is a debate in literature about the generalizability of the structure and the validity of the measures of Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness (SET). This debate spans the dimensionality and validity of the construct, and the use of the measure for summative and formative purposes of teachers valuation and feedback. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the aforementioned issues. Specifically the paper tests the relationship of teacher’s “charisma” trait with a measure of SET consisting of the two dimensions of “lecturer ability” and “module attributes.” The market characteristics of the paper are those of an emerging market and cross-cultural context with a specific reference to India. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, a two-dimensional scale of SET, which was originally developed by Shevlin et al. (2000) in their study in the UK, was empirically tested with Indian students and modified. Empirical data were collected from Indian students pursuing their MBA program in a north Indian university and statistical testing using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses was undertaken. The proposed relationship of a teacher’s “charisma” trait was tested as a reflective construct comprising of the two dimensions of SET with the help of the software package Amos ver 4.0. Findings – The results indicate that the measure of SET is influenced by the teacher’s “Charisma” (trait), thus providing evidence of a halo effect. This raises the issue of validity of SET as an instrument for measuring teaching effectiveness (TE). The results provide support to the hypothesis that structure of SET is multidimensional along with the need for adapting the instrument in diverse cultural and market contexts. Originality/value – This study contributes to the debate on the validity, structure and use of SET as an instrument for measuring TE in a developing market with cross-cultural implications such as India.