The Utility of Student Evaluations for Medical Sciences Teachers and Administrators
Seyedeh Azadeh Safavi, Kamariah Abu Bakar

Abstract
Since its introduction 93 years ago, student evaluation of teaching has swept the higher education around the world. The literature is replete with multisection studies, multitrait- multimethod validity studies, bias studies, laboratory validity studies, and dimensionality studies, all of which have identified some common themes; however, little research evidence is available on the efficacy of student evaluations and its consequences. Typically, student evaluations are utilized for formative and summative purposes. Given the mandatory nature of student evaluations in some medical sciences institutions, it is essential to establish that this process is, indeed, effective. The research reported in this paper explores the applicability and efficacy of student evaluations in medical sciences faculties and takes the additional step of delineating influenced aspects of teaching/ administrative practices. The population comprised 320 administrators and lecturers from four medical sciences faculties at one of the leading research universities in Malaysia. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings uncovered respondents’ responsiveness to student evaluations, identified the perceived effect of student evaluations on different aspects of administrative practices, and explored specific aspect of teaching practices that medical sciences lecturers modified in response to information from student evaluations.

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