Exploring the perceptions and experiences of university lecturers on corrective feedback in students' research project supervision: a case for computer-mediated mode
Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
ISSN: 2050-7003
Article publication date: 28 February 2023
Issue publication date: 22 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This study intends to add to the existing body of literature and provides a strong advocacy for the use of the computer-mediated corrective feedback by university lecturers in Nigeria and elsewhere. The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions and experiences of lecturers toward students' research project supervision using the computer-mediated corrective feedback, factors that facilitate its use, the most preferred computer-mediated corrective feedback types and the extent of its usage in project supervision.
Design/methodology/approach
This research relies on both the Dialectical Theory and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. This study adopted the interpretivist philosophical paradigm. The case study approach of the qualitative design was used in this investigation. The research participants were selected using the multi-stage sampling procedure. In all, twenty-four (24) lecturers (four from each university, comprising 16 males and 8 females and their ages ranged from 37 years to 61 years) made up the study sample. In-depth interviews were held with these lecturers. The collected data were transcribed and coded and themes were generated based on the responses of research participants using inductive-thematic analysis (ATLAS.ti version 22).
Findings
The results indicated that lecturers' perceptions towards the computer-mediated corrective feedback in students’ research project supervision are positive, as they considered it flexible, speedy and economical. Users' personal and device-related factors affect the deployment of computer-mediated corrective feedback for students' research project supervision. E-mail, WhatsApp and Zoom are the three themes that emerged as computer-mediated corrective feedback types that lecturers adopt while supervising students’ research projects. Therefore, the study recommends that lecturers should take full advantage of computer-mediated corrective feedback in supervising students' research projects in lieu of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Universities should also provide an enabling environment that facilitates computer-mediated corrective feedback.
Originality/value
Studies (outside Nigeria) have been conducted on CMCF using predominantly the experimental and the quantitative research designs in ascertaining the impact of this mode of feedback on students' writing performances. Other studies examined students' perceptions toward CMCF. However, little or no attention has been given to the use of CMCF in the supervision of students' research project writing, especially in Nigeria. Moreover, calls for more qualitative research into lecturer-student interactions and the assessment of educational issues have emerged in recent times. It is against this backdrop that this study explored university lecturers' perceptions and experiences of CMCF on students' research project supervision in Nigerian universities.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
We thank the reviewers and the journal editor for their constructive comments. We appreciate all the participants who, amidst the industrial strike action embarked upon by the Nigerian university academics at the time of data collection, willingly took part in the study.
Funding: The authors declare that no funding was received for this research.
Citation
Osiesi, M.P., Azeez, F.A., Adeniran, S.A., Akomolafe, O.D., Obateru, O.T., Oke, C.C., Aruleba, A.L., Adekoya, A.F., Olawole, A.O. and Nwogu, G.A. (2023), "Exploring the perceptions and experiences of university lecturers on corrective feedback in students' research project supervision: a case for computer-mediated mode", Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Vol. 15 No. 5, pp. 1253-1275. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-08-2022-0273
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited