Mixed Feelings About Feedback: An Exploratory Study of Students’ and Lecturers’ Emotions Pertaining to Written Feedback on Assessment

Tony Dowden; Getenet Seyum; Parkes Frey; Johannes Luetz; Heejin Chang; J-F; Tania Leach; Peter Albion

doi:10.3390/educsci16050793

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Mixed Feelings About Feedback: An Exploratory Study of Students’ and Lecturers’ Emotions Pertaining to Written Feedback on Assessment

Tony Dowden, Getenet Seyum, Parkes Frey, Johannes Luetz, Heejin Chang, J-F, Tania Leach and Peter Albion

Education Sciences, Vol.16(5), pp.1-20

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16050793

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Abstract

assessment

higher education

student emotion

lecturer emotion

written feedback

Written feedback on high-stakes assessment has the potential to provide students with valuable advice for future assessment episodes, but when feedback has a negative impact on students’ emotions, it can negate any benefits. This exploratory study reports on the perceptions of 14 lecturers and 19 students regarding their emotions toward written assessment feedback within a university preparatory program for students at a regional university in Australia. Focus groups were used to collect data from the participants. The data were analysed with NVivo Version 11 software. The data were further analysed by the authors, who identified and categorised phrases pertaining to students’ and lecturers’ emotions about feedback. The study found that lecturers and students had mixed feelings about written feedback, especially when personal connections between lecturers, other staff, and students were tenuous. It concluded that further research focusing on the impact of emotions on how students perceive written feedback and apply it in future assessments could provide insights into how to enhance contemporary tertiary teaching and assessment practices.

Details

Title: Mixed Feelings About Feedback: An Exploratory Study of Students’ and Lecturers’ Emotions Pertaining to Written Feedback on Assessment
Authors: Tony Dowden (Corresponding Author) - University of Southern Queensland
Getenet Seyum - University of Southern Queensland
Parkes Frey
Johannes Luetz - University of the Sunshine Coast
Heejin Chang - University of Southern Queensland
J-F - Crandall University
Tania Leach - University of Southern Queensland
Peter Albion - University of Southern Queensland
Publication details: Education Sciences, Vol.16(5), pp.1-20
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.3390/educsci16050793
ISSN: 2227-7102
Copyright note: © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
Data Availability: The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors on request.
Organisation Unit: Academic Support Unit; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991233182302621
Output Type: Journal article

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