Enhancing student satisfaction in higher education: the creation of staff teaching communities

The past decade has seen an increased emphasis on the quality of higher education teaching and learning environments. This study utilised qualitative (focus group) and quantitative (College and University Classroom Environment Inventory) methodologies to evaluate student perceptions of their tertiary classroom environment. Students were asked to both identify their preferred classroom environment and evaluate their actual experience. Qualitative and quantitative analyses emphasised the importance for students of (i) positive relational and communication issues, and (ii) explicit guidelines for, and support with, course expectations. In response to the finding that students' actual experiences of their classroom environment were significantly below their preferred ratings, a semester long staff development program was established. This program was based on the model of developing a 'teaching community' and provided opportunities for staff to explore, in a participatory action research framework, aspects of their teaching practice. Staff rated the program as valuable and engaged actively with the process. Following the intervention there were significant increases in students levels of satisfaction with their tertiary course experience. This paper examines the process and outcomes of this project and highlights some of the methodological difficulties of practitioner based research in tertiary education practice. The past few years have seen an increased emphasis on the quality of teaching and learning within universities. Aligned with this emphasis there is a growing need for educational research to identify ‘good practice’ in higher education and disseminate its critical constituents. Research into positive outcomes for tertiary students has often centered on characteristics of the student, the teacher and/or teaching style that correlate with improved performance measures. More recently, however, attention has focused ojn the relationship between the learning environment, i.e. the social-psychological context within which learning occurs, and student outcome measures (Fraser 1994). Positive learning environments have been demonstrated to enhance student satisfaction, engagement with learning, and academic achievement (Ames 1984, Ames 1992, Candy, Crebert and O’Leary 1994, Ramsden, Margetson, Martin and Clarke 1995).