Faculty Attitudes toward General Education Assessment: A Qualitative Study about Their Motivation

Sarah K. MacDonald, Laura M. Williams, Rory A. Lazowski, S. Jeanne Horst, and Kenneth E. Barron   |    Volume Nine  |   

As assessment becomes an ever more critical facet of higher education, it is apparent that some faculty do not always value assessment (Crossley & Wang, 2010; Ebersole, 2009). Further, faculty may react with resistance, particularly when they perceive that assessment is being imposed upon them from external sources (Crossley & Wang, 2010; Marrs, 2009; Welsh & Metcalf, 2003). Motivation for faculty to participate in assessment is therefore a critical question. We conducted a qualitative study to explore faculty attitudes towards general education assessment, focusing particularly on faculty motivation for engaging in assessment. General education coordinators were interviewed about their perceptions of student learning outcomes assessment, using a semi-structured interview approach, and then coded by consensus according to Expectancy-Value Theory of motivation (Eccles et al., 1983; Wigfield & Eccles, 2000; Wentzel & Brophy, 2014). Implications for future assessment practice are also shared.

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