Sustainable feedback and academic attainment: exploring the links in the modern higher education student

Abstract

The expectation of current higher education students is that they are an independent, self-regulated learner who work in partnership with their institution to engender lifelong learning skills that can be applied in both education and employment.  Such learners are able to monitor, direct and optimise their own learning by effectively evaluating their progress towards achieving their learning goals, proceeding with confidence, determination and resilience towards their desired outcomes.  The central thesis advanced here is that a dialogic, sustainable feedback cycle may be the most valuable mechanism through which to develop such learners.  We propose that through dialogue around feedback and effective engagement with the feedback provided, students may develop agency in their studies and improve their mental toughness and academic self-efficacy, enabling them to both set, and evaluate progress towards self-determined learning goals and thus enter into a beneficial learning partnership with agents of their institution.